A Garden for Eden
by LoyalAsAViking
Summary: Original Character. The dead have taken everything from Eden, and in seconds fate has given her a second chance, a second chance she is willing to offer to someone else as well.. Daryl/OC
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story) **

Chapter One

-Freefalling-

Eden closed her eyes; she wanted to turn the clock back. She wanted it to be like it was before. To see her little brother Aaron smile, watch as he twirled around the front lawn swinging his arms around him as he looked up into the sky. That's how she wanted to remember him.

"I love you" Deep down she believed he could understand her, he was still in there somewhere. Eden closed her eyes, wanting to shut out the world for a moment; no matter how hard she fought she couldn't do it. She couldn't watch as she killed the last person she loved, the last connection she had to hope. This was her failure, this was her fault.

The gun shot shook her whole body, shattering her soul as she feel to her knees. Breaths coming out in gasps, Eden couldn't bring herself to see if she hit her target. Dead or not her brother was somewhere in that room. Still, she couldn't decide if she would rather see him dead or a walker. Breathing or forever at rest.

It seemed like forever till she heard the thump of her brother's body hitting the white tilled floor. Eden's eyes snapped open on their own accord making her already broken heart drop to her stomach, bringing the little she had eaten in the past week up to her throat. Aaron's body lay inches before her, the whole left side of his face gone from the shotgun blast, his right side splattered with his own blood. Eden felt the familiar twist of her gut, the black dots decorating her vision, the burning in her throat, then finally the taste of acid as she threw up. Arms clutching her stomach trying to keep herself together when all she wanted to do was fall apart.

_Air, I need air! _

Slowly Eden crawled to the nearest window. Watching as the Walkers slowly made their way to the department store across the street. Something inside had peeked there interest._ 'What would a Walker want with a department store the only thing they want is food.'_ She thought, while knelling down, wiping her mouth on her jacket sleeve.

"The only thing they like to eat is ..." The realization of what they were fighting for almost knocked Eden over. There was someone in that store. Maybe more than one person. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, as silently as she could she packed whatever she could find, going through Aarons pack and taking out what she could fit in her own. Making sure she had ammo in her Glock 23, she set her fully packed duffel beside the window. She wasn't ready to leave; she had one last thing to do.

Praying to whatever god would listen; Eden made her way to her brother's body. She didn't want to leave him here, out in the open. A random walker could find him; make a dinner out of him, and then what? Taking off her jacket, and placing it on his head, Eden lifted Aarons shoulder and drug him in the nearest closet. She wanted bury him. She wanted to say something, anything to make it seem normal, but god, it was far from normal. Taking the jacket off his head Eden kissed his right cheek, while she petted the hair away from his forehead.

"I'm so sorry." She choked. "I tried to keep you safe. I tried so hard Aaron. You know I didn't want to hurt you right?" Eden's voice started crack as she held her brothers head in her lap. "I have to go. I can't stay, I want to take you with me, but I can't carry you. You're such a big boy now, but wherever I go ill always make you a little grave. Ill visits you every day. I promise. I'll even tell you those jokes you loved so much." Smiling through her tears at the memory Eden kissed her brothers forehead, her tears mixing with his blood. Folding her jacket up into a make shift pillow to rest his head on, her turned on her flashlight and set it in the corner of the small utility closet.

"I remember how afraid you were of the dark; I'll even let you listen to my IPod, I still have all that weird Asian music you put in there." Placing the ear buds next to his ear she turned the IPod on shuffle. "I love you Aaron, I'm sorry I couldn't do more." Eden whispered taking out the family picture she always kept in her back pocket and laying it next to the flashlight. Closing the closet door was by far the hardest thing she had ever done. Looking around for something to write with, something to mark this as his grave, she found a jumbo sharpie and wrote Aarons headstone on the closed door.

RIP

Here Rests

Aaron Greene

Nine Years Old

Forever a Hero

Died Protecting His Family

DO NOT OPEN!

Pulling some random boxes in front of the door, Eden walked away. She knew if she looked back again she wouldn't leave. Grabbing her duffel bag from beside the open window, careful to step over the small pile of vomit, she saw a white van taking off from the department store and rounding the corner.

"FUCK" Eden yelled, throwing her duffel bag on her shoulder before running through the door of her safe room. To her surprise the hallway was free of Walkers, she could thank whoever was hidding out across the street for that. Looking out the window to her left Eden could see the white van racing down the street. Taking a deep breath, Eden started to sprint down the hallway in chase of van. Each step she took bringing her closer and closer to the dead end hallway, and father away from her only family.

Reacting before she could think about it, Eden threw herself out of the 3rd floor window seconds before the van turned right onto the street below her. Closing her eyes she waited for the ground, she would either make it and live another day, or fall and meet her family in heaven. Either way was fine for her.

When she hit, every ounce of air left her body, pain erupted throughout her chest. Each time she tried to scream in pain it would only burn against her lungs, a loud ringing beating against her ears. She didn't move, didn't think. After she got her breathing in check and became accustomed to the pain coursing through her.

The shifting of the ground brought a new wave of realization. Eyes still closed tightly against the pain, her fingers ran across the smooth surface, feeling the heat radiation off it. Despite the pain in her chest, Eden smiled.

Forcing her eyes open was hard, first the blinding light, the stiff pain from keeping them closed so tightly, but then there were trees, thousands upon thousands of trees passed on both sides of her. Understanding rocked through her, as the sound of brakes filled the air. Laughter bubbled up in her throat. She had made it. She had landed on the van, she was alive.

**I want to thank everyone who has been following this story, and for everyone who had reviewed. As I said in the Authors Note, I am rewriting everything in the hopes to bring it back to life. Reviews are always welcomed, and if you have and questions, comments or concerns you are always welcomed to PM me. I also just noticed that A Garden for Eden had made it into it's first community. A round of applause her it, and thank you Mixture of Life for adding us. **


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story) **

**Some words or phrases may offend some people, if it does I meant no harm. **

Chapter 2

-Nubby-

-Eden-

It was at this moment when Eden realized that she had one of two options, she could sit here on the van and risk sliding off, or she could somehow get the driver to stop...without throwing her off, either way this could very well end badly.

Taking a deep breath she decided on the later, praying that she wouldn't be flung from the van just to die in an attempt to stay alive. Gathering up a bit more courage she balled up her fist in the familiar way and knocked on the van window, giving a little wave before she heard a stream of obscenities. Gripping the smooth surface of what she now knew was a box truck, instead of a van, she braced herself against the squeal of the tires. The force though flinging her forward onto the windshield.

That was the first time she met Merle Dixon. His balding and severely sunburnt head, dirt filled wrinkles, filthy once white wife beater, and one handed self seemed just as shocked as she was. Though soon that shock turned into harsh snarl as he flung the drivers door opened rocking his weight over the edge and onto the rocky pavement

"Ya'll fucking walkers never stop do ya? Stupid bitch." He cursed looking around for something to kill her with no doubt. "Everywhere I fucking go, cant get rid of you nasty rotten ass's. God you smell like..." He started to trail off walking around to the back of the truck.

"I ain't dead!" Eden yelled as she attempted to maneuver the bottom half of her body off the top of the truck, finding it difficult with the weight of her bag. Her mind started to race as she heard the unmistakable sound of work boots hitting the pavement as the scruffy and almost over weight man came back around to the front of the car.

"You say somethin'?"

"Well, yeah. I.. I ain't dead, and I haven't been bit either. I did however just jump out of a building on top of your truck, which I'm surprised you didn't hear. So if you would.." She was cut off as his hand came out and grabbed the collar of her shirt and yanked her down and on top of the hood.

"The fuck man!" Eden ground out, feeling the wipers dig into her back

"Get your ass off my fucking truck and get to walking!" He yelled, his breath smelling like stale ass and moth balls as he reached for her leg.

"Now, I don't know who you think your yellin' at, cause I didn't do shit to you but dent your hood a little bit. Eden huffed as she slid off the hood of the truck trying not to think about the discomfort in her chest, or the thought of what would happen if she was on her own as she leaned against the passenger door. "You driving or should I?"

"Listen here you coon bitch, I aint abut to take shit from a half breed cunt like you." He growled, stomping over to her, waving his handless arm in the air.

"Fuck you, you ignorant filth. I can tell ya right now that you can spit those words at me but they wont do ya a lick of good! I don't care what your opinion is about my heritage , though news flash the world is gone. There is no more race, there aint no more wars. We gotta survive so whether you like it or not we ARE surviving.

"That means I'm getting into that seat, your gonna get in the other and we are gonna fucking survive. CAUSE I DONT WANT TO BE ALONE!" Eden growled as she opened the door never taking her eyes off of the seething mans face. Reaching over her head onto the truck and grabbed her duffle bag and threw it into the cab, her body following it soon after.

Now Merle Dixon was never one to take orders, not from his Pa and he sure as hell never took them from woman, but this one had his brain in over drive. Looking back into the cab he studied her, everything from her skin tone to the fact that she seemed to be completely unfazed by him yelling at her had him wanting to punch her in her damn throat. Though he had to admit, for a coon she wasn't half bad. She had one hell of an ass and a rack to match. The fire behind her green eyes told him she was a fighter, not like them prissy ass girls back at that camp.

She was a light skinned girl, he would guess that her ma was white and she had a nigger daddy. He could tell that she got a lot of her ma's traits, ' she aint got that nasty hair on 'er, he caught himself thinking. Though she did have a point, weren't no use being alone, at least if walkers come he can throw her half- breed ass to em'.

"You gonna get your honkey ass in here so we can go or are ya gonna stand there and retard all damn day!" She yelled out the window giving him a look that would send the devil running, but sent waves of anger and oddly enough a twinge of amusement through him.

"Fuck you bitch!" He hissed going to flip her off, forgetting for a moment of his missing hand. His anger shot through the roof and a whole list of curses out his mouth. After he made his way into the drivers seat curling his lip up in instinct at the fact that he was sitting beside of a damn nigger. A lot of things may change in this world like she said, but one thing was for sure Merle was a racist, and as any good racist would have felt; he was damn pissed to be sitting there.

"Nigger bitch" Merle grumbled as he started the truck back up and took off down the deserted road.

"Eden" She coughed out after about 30 minutes of dead silence. She was starting to feel a bit insane between the throbbing pain in her chest and the steady growing headache, she needed something to occupy her mind. Even if it meant talking to someone who clearly hated her for something she has no control over.

"What's that supposed to mean. That one of them nigger words?" He spat never taking his eyes off the road.

"No, it's not ''one of them nigger words''. It's my name" She chuckled. She honestly found it amusing. Racists never bothered her. She grew up with a white family, went to all white schools, hell she was even brought up in an all-white church. She worked on a farm, even helped her uncle with the livestock. She wasn't afraid to get dirty and sure wasn't afraid to shoot and dress her own dinner. She was country, she lived and breathed it. And here comes this man, someone she could have met, maybe could have been friends with someone, who looks like the people she grew up with, and he hates her. Because her mama had a baby by a black man.

"What they hell you laughing at. I aint said nothing funny half-breed" He grumbled. "I aint even asked your name."

"Doesn't matter. I said it anyways." Eden joked trying to at least show him that she was friendly. She didn't know why but she wanted him to not hate her.

"Merle" He replied after a couple moments of hesitation. Eden smiled a bit at his response. It wasn't his name that made her happy. It was the fact that he replied, without calling her a name. To her that was progress.

"Well Merle it's nice to meet you. Where are you from?" She asked hoping to get a little more conversation from him.

"Now look here, we aint gonna be doing none of that girl talk shit. We here to survive not be friends. You don't need to know me and I don't need to know you none." He grumbled, someone might have seen it as hostile but she seen it as progress. No yelling, no name calling.

"Well I'm from the next town over, right outside of Atlanta. Though I moved up to Tennessee about a year and a half ago. Came back cause of the sickness, you know before the world went to shit, wanted to see if I could find my family. We had this far-"

"I aint wanting to hear it woman, shut the hell up!" Merle yelled slamming his good hand against the wheel. "Can we just sit here? Please! No talking." He spat his knuckles growing white on the steering wheel.

Progress. She thought as they sat there in silence for the next hour. She tried as hard as she could not to think about Aaron. Not to think about what she had to do to him. What he did for her.

_'No..'_ She thought, _'You can think about it later, you can grieve for him later. For right now just breathe, try and think about something else. Anything else.'_

Eden had no idea what to do. Her mind wouldn't stop racing, everything in her life was gone. Everyone was gone. Now she was stuck with someone who might just be the only other person on this planet. Would we have to repopulate? She couldn't help but think. Looking over at Merle she gave him, for the first time, a good once over. Taking everything … Merle in, and after a moment of consideration she came to the decision. There would be no way in hell, or on this zombie filled earth that she would every in any way come in sexual contact with this man. 

Ever.

Reaching into her bag Eden pulled out a plastic bottle half full of water. While she was staring at Merle she couldn't help but notice that he looked like he just came out of an oven. The top of his head was so burnt that his scalp looked like it was bubbling. Picking her bag back up she dug out one of her wife-beaters and her first aid kit. Looking outside the sun had finally started to sink. 

"We should pull over somewhere, its going to be dark soon. Plus you're going to need some help with that burn. I could do it." She offered, wondering just how long she had been staring at him.

"We are going to my so called group. I got some words to pick with them pussies." Merle said brushing her off completely.

"That's not a good idea. Unless we can get their in the next say.. 10 minutes, we wont make it anywhere before night fully hits. The lights on the car will attract the dead, and if we hit something we are to vulnerable. We need to make a base area at least for tonight before it gets to dark. That way we can be sure we will be safe tonight. We got this truck. We can just pull off into the woods a bit and sleep in the back. Roll up the windows lock the doors and call it a night." Eden argued. A bit winded at the end, she had wanted to get everything out, make sure he heard everything in her plan before he interrupted her with some kind of crude remark.

"We are gonna be leaving at first light, Whether you think it's a good idea or not" Merle barked. After mumbling to himself and glaring at Eden every so often. "I know a little area we can park at. I'm keeping the keys on me so you cant steal it in the middle of the night. I know how you niggers are." 

"If I was really a "nigger" I could hotwire it. I wouldn't need your keys dumb ass." Eden spat shaking her head. She may have been poor in the world before but she didn't steal from no one. They sat there in silence as Merle pulled of on a small trail through the woods, and after into a small clearing no bigger than a CVS parking lot.

Opening her door Eden stood to get out of the tuck waiting for Merle to turn it off before she stepped out of it completely and jogged to the back to open the latch. Jumping into the back of the truck, she walked to the front and reached around Merle for her bag, having put the water and her shirt back in during their brief.. discussion on where to go.

Stopping before she ran back to the opened hatch she smiled a bit at Merles confused look. "Come on back here so I can look at them burns of yours. Maybe I can look at your wrist to Nubby." She smiled at bit trying to let him know she was joking about the last part, as she made her way.

"You little bitch. Don't you talk shit about my fucking hand. I had to cut this shit off myself. That fucking asshole sheriff and those fucking pussies from my camp handcuffed me to that damn roof. Then they left me for them fucking walkers to eat my ass." Merle yelled at her, quick to jump out of his seat and across the little space between him and Eden. His body ridged as he fussed and waved his grotesque arm. Coming to stop in front of her looking her dead in her eyes. Merle grew up being talked down to. He would be damned if at the end of the world he would have some little nigger bitch trying to put him down.

"Merle.."

"No you cunt.."

"HEY NOW! NO!" Eden yelled snapping her fingers in front of his face to shut him up and get his attention. "I don't like that word. Never! Never again Merle. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that I was playing with you. I get that you don't like me because my mother had sex with a black man and he left her when he found out she was pregnant. I'm sorry you're a racist. That doesn't mean I am a bad person because of it. You need to stop with that shit. I don't care how, just stop with it. I'm not going to say anything just to be mean to you. You and I might be the only people left in the world. THE ONLY ONES. Your camp may not be there tomorrow, we never know. We cant hate each other when there is no one else left." Eden fussed lifting up on her toes a bit to come eye to eye with the stinky redneck in front of her. "Now you need to sit your ass down right over there so I can help you with your fucking burns… Please." She said after a moment. Then breaking eye contact to bend down and get her kit together.

Merle was in shock. From the moment this woman got into his car she had stood up to him. He had chalked it up to him driving at the time, so she felt a little brave. Now here she was actually toe to toe with him and didn't bat an eye. Though Merle never backs out of a fight, so he waited until she had looked away before he walked over to the edge of the truck and sat out down to look at where his hand use to be. He could hear her light footsteps against the metal of the truck as she came closer to where he sat.

"I have some water here. But its only half of a bottle" Eden spoke as she knelt beside Merle shaking the water out in front of him.

"Well give me the fucking thing." Merle grunted as he went to swipe it from her.

"Damn boy. We are going to work on your fuckin manners. Jus cause it's the end of the world don't mean you have to go around being a cave man. You can have some when you say please." Eden replied in all seriousness. Taking the bottle and putting it back into her bag after pouring a bit onto her last clean wife-beater.

Merle hissed as the cold shirt touched his head. The pain, then cool relief made him a bit dizzy. Next Eden reached for his arm looking at it she let out a long whistle that made Merle pull his arm back quickly with a huff of his chest.

"Didn't mean nothing by it other than it looks like it hurts. Don't go being offended. I have some painkillers but I don't think they will be much help, an I don't have anything that will help with it scarring . Its gonna itch like a bitch when it scabs I can tell you that much Nubby." She said patting his leg then jumping off the back of the truck. "Im going to look around and make sure that there isnt any walkers out there." Eden said pulling her gun out of the back of her jeans. She gave Merle a steady look. "Ill be back." She whispered setting off into the woods, leaving Merle, her bag, and the only form of transportation behind her.

**Hey ya'll, so this chapter is longer than the first; I hope to keep them this way. Reviews are always welcomed. Again, thank you everyone that has subscribed to updates and who have favorited this story. Hope to make ya'll proud. **  
><strong>Cheyenne.<strong>


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**Some words or phrases may offend some people, if it does I meant no harm.**

Chapter 4

Trust is a big thing, and in times like these it was a sometimes stupid thing to have in someone. You can barely trust your own kin out in this walking dead world. An yet this woman trusted Merle, and this little fact threw him for a spin. No one ever trusted a Dixon; everyone in Merles small ass town treated him and his brother like they were trash, so they started acting like it. Merle always thought that if someone thought something hard enough why try and change their mind? You just end up wasting time; time better spent snorting a Xanax or chasing some piece of ass.

Merle sighed as he ran his callused hand over his worn face. The events of the past day and a half finally taking its toll on the tired man. There was no way he could put this behind him, no way to forget. Unlike so many of his scars and so many memories, he will never be able to forget taking his own hand. There was a lot broken inside of Merle but doing that to himself broke a part of him he didn't even know existed. He found it harder to be his old self. To be rude and vile, something happened when that saw-blade started cutting his flesh, whether it be an act of God or his brain being in shock, but Merle couldn't find it in himself to be straight out mean.

Don't get it wrong or anything Merle was still on some level Merle, and boy did he have some things to say to those fuckers back at his camp when he gets there, the only exception it seemed at this point was the Eden girl. She wasn't reacting like all the women he was used to. Backing away like he might infect her with some kind of 'low life' sickness. She looked him in the eye, looked him in the eye and never backed down. There was a spark in her that he could respect, she was a predator, she just didn't know it yet.

Night was falling fast as the two sat locked inside the back of the box truck. Neither speaking, neither moving, even their breathing was quite. There was a need for silence now; they both seem to have come to that same conclusion. Unneeded noise was a death wish, anything could attract the dead out there, and Merle wasn't so sure that he trusted her ability to scout enough that to believe that they were completely safe, and if Eden was truthfully she wasn't so sure so didn't miss anything either, she had been otherwise distracted there at the end. So there they sat until Merle noticed the black under her nails and the large amount of mud and clay on her hands and knees.

"What where you doing out there Half-breed? Digging a grave?" Merle joked pointing to her solid pants and mudded hands. Laughing at his own joke.

"Yes" Eden whispered looking up at him from her dark hair, afar off look in her eyes.

"Well shit, I know what kind of talking this is about to be. Good thing old Merle came prepared." Merle laughed a bit more awkwardly this time. He was putting up some sort of effort to be at least civil to the woman in front of him. Racist or not she had a point earlier about them not needing to hate each other, at least for now until they get back to camp Merle told himself.

"I don't understand" Eden asked after a moment of silence looking back at Merle as he tried to reach into his back pocket. "What are you looking for?" She questioned, perking up when a familiar smell hit her nose. Scooting from across the truck Eden sat in front of the older redneck knees barley touching. Her mouth watered slightly on its own accord.

"Damn girl you look like a dog beggin for a treat. You know what Ol Merles got now don't ya." He chuckled tossing the overstuffed baggie in Eden's lap.

"This is the biggest bag I have ever seen!" Eden whispered happily putting it up to her nose and taking a big whiff. "Mom, do I smell Blueberry Kush?"She joked, "Merle you are a fucking beautiful man" Eden gushed leaning forward on instinct coming closer to Merle then anyone had come in almost all his whole life, her right hand supporting herself on his huge leg and her left and lifting the bag up to his nose. "Smell this shit Nubby. It's gonna make you cream yourself!"

"Wait a bit now don't get too excited the bottom of that bag there is just plain mid. Plus I already know what it smells like, it's my shit" Merle said as he pushed the bag away from him and held up his damaged arm. "Can you roll? Cause if you haven't noticed I aint got no hand."

"Oh I can roll alright buddy! I'm a Half-breed remember." Eden said with a wink as she sat back down. Taking the box of zigzags out of the bag she began to do the familiar motion of rolling a joint. Occasionally sneaking a glance up at Merle as he watched her a bit skeptically. "Sorry it's not perfect, it's been a while" Eden coughed out as she passed Merle the freshly rolled joint.

"This damn thing looks like a fucking cigarette, I might just like you yet Half-breed if you can do this for me all the time" He joked pulling out his lighter and taking a long drag. Letting the smoke relax his muscles and clench his lungs before he let it out in big cloud of smoke and flying spit from his now muffled coughing. "Here you go girl" He spoke between coughing fits.

"Naw its ok someone's got to keep watch tonight. I just want to watch ya and smell if that's cool." Eden said as she smiled sadly. She wanted that joint, man did she want it, but their safety was more important and she wasn't about to be some dead man's dinner just because she wanted a smoke.

"Whatever you say Half-breed" Merle shrugged taking a long hit and blowing it in her face. To his surprise Eden simply smiled and breathed in the old smoke and sighed. Most girls he knew hated smoke blown in their face, hell most girls hated pretty much anything the Dixon boys did.

"When you're done give me your roach and I'll find something to put it in, that way when you ever run out of smoke you can just roll them all up into one big fatty. Just promise when you smoke it I'm not on guard duty." Eden whispered laying her hands in her lap and watched the man smoke.

Merle watched in silence as Eden rolled up another joint and set it on his leg before he was even done with the first one. He was finding it increasingly hard to hate her, be it from this amazing joint she rolled or from the fact that her personality and honesty made her likable. After the second joint, Merle was surprised to find himself completely stoned.

"What were you digging a grave for or was you lying?" Merle asked after handing the girl his last roach. Leaning his head back against the cool metal of the box truck he watched the pleasant happiness fade from her bright green eyes.

"I was digging for my brother. I left him behind in that building I jumped out of, I promised I would dig him a real grave. . . I… well" Eden huffed running her hand down her face trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. "He got bit for me and I had to put him down. I don't want to talk about this anymore" She said as she got up and moved to the passenger side and stared out the windows into the blackness. Thinking back to Aaron's lifeless body. "Might want to get some sleep long day ahead tomorrow. Like I said I'll take watch."

"I got a brother too ya know. Though mines still kicking." Merle stated lying down on the cold metal floor. "No offence." He added after seeing the look on her face. "Names Daryl. Daryl Lee Dixon, he's all I got left in this world. I don't know what I would do if I lost him." Merle paused. He wasn't one to talk about his feelings but the weed had loosened up his tongue. "I uh, can't imagine what you are feeling."

"Thanks Nubby. Tell me about him?"

"Well, I mean, he's my brother. He can track anything, and I mean anything girl. He's always had my back too. I ain't always been a great brother but he's stuck by me through it all. I call him Darleen just to get him all rung up, makes me happy." Merle trailed off after a bit. Eden thinking he was asleep relaxed into the seat ready for the night's long watch. "He's quite" He spoke after a moment. "Our Pa was a big drunk and our Ma died when Daryl was about 9. She was a wonderful woman, she'd like you. Was as bull headed as a shark but as nice as could be. I never understood why she loved my Pa as much as she did. When she died though Pa started drinking more and more, and then after a while he started hitting on Daryl. I came home one night and heard it... heard Pa beating on my 12 year old baby brother, he was beaten him bad too and I couldn't do shit about it. I was so fucked up I could hardly make my way to my bedroom let alone stop my old man. So I ignored it, I regret that day every time I see him. He doesn't know that I was there doesn't know that I let our pa beat on him till he was tired." Eden had a feeling that Merle was talking to himself more than her now. "Daryl he's a man now. Better man then I could ever be, and to say I am proud as hell of the boy would be an understatement. To be honest I'm bits jealous too, a bit afraid that he is gonna realize how good he is and up and leave old Merle."

This was something Merle hadn't thought would happen, spilling himself to some stranger. These were things that he forced himself to never think about, he found it felt good to say them out loud.

"What do you think is gonna happen tomorrow? Will your group even let me stay?" Eden asked after a moment. "I won't know what to do... I don't think I could make it all by myself." She added her voice cracking at the thought of being turned away, pushed out into the world alone.

"Them fuckers can't say shit. You gonna stay with me and mine. Even if you are some Half-breed. Maybe we can make you a nice spot out of old newspaper in our tent." Merle laughed when he seen the smile on Eden's face. He meant it as a joke and was glad that she saw it that way, he had to admit he was growing a bit partial to this girl…woman?

"How old are ya?" Merle wondered aloud. Turning his head up and over his shoulder to get a better look at the girl huddle into the passenger seat.

"I'll be twenty-one in two months. Yea two months is about right." Eden replied her voice laced with a heaviness that Merle didn't miss. _'Twenty-one, damn she's young.'_ Merle thought. He settled himself once more and got a good look at her.

Eden may have been twenty-one but for what Merle could see, she looked twenty-six maybe even twenty-seven. Not that she was aging badly; it was just the way she held herself. How mature her features were.

Even in the dark Merle could make out her small 5'2 frame huddle in the seat, her knees brought up under her chin while she hugged herself. Her dark hair was thrown into a messy bun, strings flying off in random directions, a leaf or two here and there. You could tell it hadn't been washed in a while, but with Merles respect he noticed that she must at least attempt to hold back the bundle of lose curls. Making Merle speak before he could think about what he was saying.

"Is that your real hair?"

"My real hair? Is this... yes Merle this is my hair. 100% mine." Eden sputtered a bit between light giggles shaking her head. A few moments later Merle noticed her putting a self-conscious hand through it. Then attentively look back and flip him the bird. Merle just continued his study of her. His high fueling his want to know more.

The one thing that really caught Merles eye though, was her body. _'She's got an ass I would love to tear up.' _He thought with a large smile on his face. He was after all a man, a man in the middle of the apocalypse. She didn't just have an ass that made him want to beg like a man possessed, but a fucking rack that almost got him off just thinking about them. An that... what did them boys at the bar call it.. damn runner's body? Big tits, thin waste, nice juicy ass. If only Darlene could see her. At this moment he didn't care that she's a damn Half-breed.

_'Hell makes her look all exotic.' _Her slightly upward slanting eyes giving her a bit of a feline look to her. Offsetting her bright green eyes. _'Her skin barley even looks black. She looks whiter than them damn bitches off that Jersey Shore shit I caught Daryl watching. Just looks like she got her a nice good tan.'_

"Why don't you look like other Half-breeds? You know with a white mama and colored daddy?" Merle asked before he could stop himself, hoping for a moment that he didn't offend her. He didn't want to, he was just a bit curious to a couple things, plus he was higher than fucking Willie Nelson.

"Well. There is a thing called genetics. I didn't just have a full 100% white mom and my dad aint 100% black from what i'm told anyways." Eden whispered after a bit. Turning her head a bit till her check was rested on her knees and looked at him. Her eyes were so soft and broken in that moment, that Merle was a bit taken back. "My mom was for the most part in her history white, but she had a lot of Irish in her so I get this mass of curls on my head, and by the grace of God I didn't get the nappy black shit that some of us...um half-breeds get. I took after the Latino in my father and got the good hair. My old man, as i'm told had; Asian, Latino, and Black in him. So when you put it all together you get me." She finished waving her hand dramatically in the air. Giving him an award winning smile. Then all too soon her smile faded and the broken part was back in those eyes of hers. This time it brought a couple friends; pain and loneliness. "My brother though, he was a lil white boy. Country as could be and a hard ass worker. Even if he was only just nine years old. You would be surprised the man I seen him become in such a sort amount of time in this here shit storm."

"What was he like?" Merle questioned. He was pulled into her story, he had a brother. One he didn't even know was breathing or not. Hell Merle may be an addict but he wasn't fucking heartless.

"He was.. so happy, laughing and running around without a care in the world. It was like a fire had been started under his ass from sun up till sun down. Loved sports too, played everything he could. He was smart too, he could have been somebody too." The broken fillings slowly burned into anger as she slammed her fist on her knee. "I told him I would keep him safe! That.. that I would protect him! He wasn't suppose to protect me."

"Hey now, you can't blame yourself, a good boy like that wasn't meant for this world." Merle made his way over to her sit, towering over her. " He don't have to live like this anymore. Wondering when he'll eat, afraid to use the damn bathroom. At least now the boy can take a shit without being afraid someone was going to bite his ass." A scowl made it's way to her face, one that even through all the emotional talk going on had him laughing, maybe a bit too loud to be out in the forest but he couldn't help it. It was too damn funny.

"That damn look you got on your face right now is the same one my lil brother Daryl makes. That damn look! Boy you could put him to shame though, let me tell ya." Merle barked after he was able to breathe for a moment. Laying back down, closer this time, he cleared his throat and asked the one question that had been on his mind the entire time.

"Can I have some of that water? Please?"

**Hey guys! So there's the end to this chapter, how did ya'll like it? Remember your pointers really do help. Plus it would make the story more enjoyable for all of us. Also before I forget, I know a few of you will think that Merle is a bit OOC, well this is how I see him, and I think that after he cut his hand off, instead of driving him completely insane, it humbled him a bit. **


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**Some words or phrases may offend some people, if it does I meant no harm.**

Chapter 5

Merle had spent most of the night talking with Eden in hushed tones, he told her about each of the people in the group and his opinions about each one of them. He didn't hide one thought or cross opinion and to his surprise she didn't try to reprimand him, she didn't even look down at him. He even went as far as to tell her a bit about his past in the military and some of his inner thoughts. He found her easy to talk to, she never interrupted and always had this look on her face that urged you to talk more, before you knew it you are confessing things you didn't know you were talking about.

After two more joints and the rest of Eden's water Merle finally went to sleep leaving Eden to her own thoughts. Thoughts of her brother, of the shadowy woods, and of Merle Dixon. She took a second to thank whoever was listening that she found him, she had a feeling not many people sent up that prayer.

When the sun started peeking up through the tree line Eden moved over to wake the graying man up, only to stop short at the baggy falling out of his leather vest. Picking up the bag Eden knew instantly what it was, the little rocks where unmistakable.

"Merle. . . Merle what is this." Eden asked after a swift push against the man's shoulders. "You can't be doing this shit now. We can't survive with this shit in your system, what happens when one of them walkers comes to have you for a snack and you are too doped up to protect yourself?" She yelled in a hush whisper, cautious not to raise her voice to loud in case some walkers had somehow wandered into the area.

"Whoa now! Don't you start waking me up yelling, what I do is my own business." Merle sneered rubbing his eyes and scratching his junk. With a pop of his neck he was up and making his way towards the closed hatch.

"Where are you going?" Eden asked still fuming at the fact that he seemed set to keep the white rocks he was putting back into his pocket.

"To piss. Is that ok with you?" He gruffly responded jumping out the back.

"I want you to get rid of that shit Merle I aint playing." Eden said jumping out after him making a grab for his arm. Gripping his forearm and pulling him back. "Give it to me and I'll do it if you think you cant."

"Hell no now get the fuck off of me." He growled shaking her arm off making his way around the truck. Stalking up to him Eden pushed against his shoulders hard, making him stumble a bit.

"Give me the shit." She growled out between her teeth. Reaching into his pocket to get the offending bag, before Merle could think about it his arm flew out and caught her wrist and jerked it towards him then shoved it back into her chest when she shuffled forward. The force of his shove sending her to the ground on her ass, the back of her head hitting the metal of the truck.

"Don't touch me you filthy nigger." Merle spat stalking off into the woods leaving Eden on the ground with her head spinning.

Now Merle had never hit a woman before, sure he had felt the urge but he never acted on it. He was just surprised by her coming after him, embarrassed from what he said to her last night, and angry at himself for needing this damn baggy that was burning a hole in his vest breast pocket. He felt like if he tired he could feel that burn all the way down in his heart.

"Fucking pussy it's just heart burn from all the fucking squirrel." He muttered to himself while he took quick carefully silent steps through the woods. Between the Army and hunting Merle had become deadliest here. Didn't matter if he was familiar with the landscape or completely lost, the woods where his territory.

After a moment to collect his bounds and make sure there wasn't any dead shits close to where he was, Merle settled up against the bark and roots of the biggest tree he could find. The bigger the tree the less likely he could be seen, plus he wasn't a climber. In truth Merle didn't have to pee at all. He hadn't had enough to drink to even come close to filling up his bladder, he really just wanted to get out here and take a hit. Even after Eden had pretty much b-rated him for it, he felt like he needed the drug. Nothing was going to happen if he did it, he would go right back to the truck and drive on to the camp.

Merle took the baggy out his pocket and laid the little crystal on a rock he had picked up during his trek through the woods. Shaking his head once more, he hit the hilt of his hunting knife against the crystal until all that was left was fine white powder. Scooping some up onto the knife's blade Merle snorted as much as he could take and let the blackness drift into him.

Yelling, that's what was bringing him out of his drug induced stupor. The feel of cold fingers being torn from his body, the blurry image of a gore covered Eden, then the hardness of the ground. Every now and then he could feel bits of rocks and sticks digging into his flesh, but all to soon the blackness drifted closer and closer.

Groaning. It was the unmistakable sound of the dead, and it sent chills to Eden's very core. After Merle had left her on the ground she had crawled back into the truck and waited for him to return. Sure she was still fired up about their argument but there was no need to follow the man into the woods and yell at him while he took a piss. Plus the impact her head made to the truck had left her a bit dizzy. While she waited Eden had been to preoccupied looking through her bag and taking inventory to notice the small herd of walkers that had shambled out of the surrounding woods, that was until one had noticed her moving around in the truck and had made its way through the open hatch.

It hadn't taken long for her killer instinct to come into play, she knew that shooting her gun would cause the rest of the 15 or so walkers to rush for the new meal, but she had no choice no other weapon, and no Merle. Taking her gun out of the back of her jeans she had enough time to turn around completely before the rotting remains of a blonde haired female to tighten its dead hands in her hair and pull her head towards its mouth.

She could feel the walkers rotten breath against her hair line, its thick saliva coating the barrel of her gun, the death grip the monster had on her hair and shirt had her pressed against its mushy body making it impossible for Eden to move anywhere in fear that the dead woman's nails would break through her skin. Taking a breath Eden pulled the trigger sending pieces of brain and skull flying off into the air and unfortunately all over Eden.

After feeling the dead woman's grip slip from her body Eden grabbed her bag and jumped out of the truck, looking around she fired four more shots at the closest walkers and ran off into the distance to find Merle, praying that she hadn't lost him too.

It was when she was passing the grave she had dug for Aaron that she seen the trail of blood running across the disturbed soil and behind a large tree did she stop running. Looking around the tree she saw the torso of a small walker climbing its way up Merle Dixon's body. With a yell she gripped the walkers long pony tail, wrapping the dirt matted hair in her fingers, and flung her and the half-walker to the wooden floor, stunned by the lightness of the dead woman.

She had no bullets left, using them on the scattered walkers that remained in the woods, looking around she found nothing to defend herself or the motionless Merle with, so Eden scrambled to the walker and rammed her head into the grass until her arms burned.

So here she was, dragging Merle half on her back through the woods. Trying to keep in front of the groaning that had been chasing them for almost an hour. After killing the half walker Eden had found Merle against the tree doped out of his mind. After slapping and kicking him a few times Eden could no longer ignore the steadily growing moaning in the distance. Somehow, thanks to tons of adrenaline, Eden managed to get Merles chest to her back, his under pits on her shoulders and her long sleeved flannel shirt wrapped around both of their waists, in her right hand she held is hunting knife and in her left she held her, increasingly heavy, duffle bag. If she had to defend them they were going to be SOL, that's what pushed her to try her best to run.

It hurt like hell, Merle being at least a foot taller and having a couple hundred pounds on her. Dragging him through an uneven forest wasn't a walk through the park. There was a couple times that they had tipped over, falling over an over grown root, or her own two feet. Eden's knees always took the blunt of the fall.

It felt like she had been running all day, even after Eden could no longer hear the shuffles and groans of the undead she kept going. She was scared, and didn't want anything sneaking up on them. By the time the sun had fully risen in the sky Merle was finally showing signs of waking.

Taking the final couple of steps out of the woods and onto a long dirt road that ran clear up the side of what looked like a small mountain, Eden untied Merle from around her waist and let him drop to the ground, her body soon following it. Eden's whole body was on fire, each muscle protesting against any movement. Still she crawled over to sit beside the dirty redneck. Her sweat soaked wife beater sticking to her skin, and pulling at the bits of dried up walker gore that was caked on to her skin.

"Merle." She rasped out shaking the man a bit, "Come on man wake up. I can't carry you anymore, and we got to move." As she tried in vain to wake the man up she heard the unmistakable sound of a car in the distance. Pushing Merle onto his side Eden crouched down with her back pressed against his front and the knife to her chest her free hand behind her on Merles shoulder, ready to give her an extra boost should she need to attack someone. When the whole world ended, she and her brother found out real quick that it wasn't just the dead you had to look out for.

Everything in her body felt spring loaded, ready to lash out at any threat coming towards her and Merle. In a last stretch effort her body had gone into complete defensive mode, her eyes never leaving the slowly progressing Caravan. There was no way that they wouldn't see her, so there was no use in trying to hide. Instead Eden was ready to fight, fight for her life and the life of the drugged up idiot behind her. Soon the mass of cars came to a stop a mere foot and half away from her. She watched as two men started towards her, one in a sheriff's uniform and the other in a pair of jeans and a black shirt. Each she saw carrying a firearm.

"Don't come any closer, I will kill you to keep us alive." Eden said, trying to hide the exhaustion from her voice. "We don't need anything from ya'll, so please just leave. We are only passing through." She added hoping that the fact that she wasn't going to beg for food or safety would keep the two men at bay, make them turn around and leave them be.

"Rick she don't need our help. Let's just leave her be." The curly haired man said taking the arm of sheriff Rick as he made a move to come closer. Rick didn't listen though, he kept advancing his gun still at his side. Using some of the last of her energy Eden stood on weak legs and held the knife out in front of her ready to attack.

Once he was within reaching distance Eden advanced, slashing the knife high and bringing it down towards the man before being tackled by the other. Once she hit the ground all the air was knocked from her lungs and lights danced behind her tried fighting the brute who had her in a headlock.

"Shane, go get Daryl." Rick shouted, getting a better look at the unconscious man, he never thought he would be happy to see Merle Dixon.

"Don't you touch him!" The blood covered woman thrashing in Shane's arms started to scream, her elbow colliding painfully against the deputies neck. His grip loosing just enough for her to get out, standing up she kneed him in the face. Rick watched as she ran for him, picking up the knife.

"Whoa now ma'am. We don't mean any harm." Rick tired to calm her down, backing away slowly hands held in front of him. "We only want to help."

"I know what kind of help ya'll are wanting, we ain't interested. Now git!" The fury in her green eyes shook him up. "Take your fucking lackey with you." She growled, jerking her head over to Shane, never taking her eyes off Rick.

"Shane, get up and get Daryl." Rick ordered his friend in a calm voice, not wanting the woman in front of him to gut him.

"Just shoot her Rick. Bitch broke my nose!" Shane growled getting to his feet making his way to the woman.

"Now Shane!" Rick didn't want to kill the woman, somehow she had brought Merle back to their camp. Once Shane had taken off towards the group Rick started to bend down.

"Watch it now." The woman was watching him like a hawk, eyes piercing into his own, cold and deadly.

"I'm just putting the gun down. See... nothing going on." Rick laid the gun in the grass while taking a couple more steps back. "Where did you find him?"

"Stop talking." Eden growled out, she knew who these people were from the moment she seen the mans uniform. Merle had gone into detail when he told her about his group, she also knew that they had abandoned him on that roof, leaving him die. She knew he didn't trust them and as mad as she was with his druggie ass, she trusted him a hell of a lot more than these fucks.

"Rick? What's this?" Someone was coming up behind her, Eden tensed up automatically, ready defend Merle and herself.

"Darlina?" Eden called over her shoulder, never breaking eye contact with Rick. "Daryl Lee Dixon? Younger brother of Merle Dixon?"

"What the hells going on? How do you know me?" He had stopped moving, Eden could no longer feel him getting closer, still she wouldn't let her guard down.

"Merle has a tattoo on his ass. What is it?" She yelled back once more, thinking back to Merle rambling about his scars and tattoo the night before.

"What?" Daryl asked. Shane had ran up to his is truck hand over his nose, blood coming through his fingers, telling him that Rick had found some people down at the end of the road and that he needed his help. He hadn't expected to walk in on what he did.

Rounding the front of their caravan, Daryl kind of wanted to laugh. Rick, the big bad sheriff, was being held at knife point by a woman no taller than his chest, Ricks eyes moving from her to man on the ground, his face pressed into the dirt.

He scanned the woman's back. From the way her hair was falling out of its bun, to the scar on the back of her neck, her once white wife beater now brown and red, clinging tightly to her body and tight black pants stuffed into her knee high brown boots. Daryl couldn't help but blush.

"Answer the question before I shove this knife in Sheriff Do-Goods chest." Daryl watched the way her shoulders tensed, the slight bend of her knees. How the hell did she know so much about him?

"It's a sandwich... an um...female sandwich." Daryl started to blush even more, Merle's ass tattoo was beyond vulgar. Still, he watched all the tension leave the small woman's body, the arm holding the knife hit her side. "What's this all about anyways?" He asked coming closer.

"I found something you lost." Her voice was soft, exhausted even. Coming closer he took a long look at the man at her foot, the air leaving his body in a rush.

"Merle?"

**HAHA, I feel kinda evil just leaving it in the air like that. Another update coming soon, if anyone knows of someone who would like to Beta for me I would really appriciate you sending them my way. **  
><strong>Cheyenne.<strong>


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**Some words or phrases may offend some people, if it does I meant no harm.**

-Chapter 5-

When Merle woke up he couldn't help but think that the last two days had been a dream. The familiar smell of stale beer and sweat invading his senses making it harder to believe it had all been real, that was, until the strange numb ache of where his right hand use to be, made itself known. That slow pulsing ache bringing back everything that had happened, from being handcuffed on the roof to leaving Eden in the truck while he got himself another bump.

Still he continued to lay there in the cab of the rusted over Ford in a bit of shock, everything just seemed too much in that moment. The last few months had felt like sort of an extended hunting trip. He figured that after a while the world would fix itself and he would be back to his old ways. Drugs and beer during the day; drugs and a piece of ass at night. He had been eyeing the Bad Bobs new waitress Betty the night before all hell broke loose, he figured you know, after all this was over, if she was still alive, they could hook up. Though now that didn't seem like a possibility. He liked the way her hair moved though, liked the way she smiled at people… smiled at him.

None of that mattered anymore; Betty was most likely dead… no she was dead. There would be no way that she could make it in this world. Hell he almost didn't make it in this world.

Using his fingers he lightly traced the dirty fabric of the wife beater he had wrapped around his stump. It was when he cut off his hand he finally realize that this world was it. There was no 'after' to this never ending massacre. He had a choice: he could lay there and die or he could live. Even if his choice came with a harsh sacrifice it was still better than death.

Shaking his head he looked around the dirty floor board not really searching for anything just taking the time to look. Rolling onto his side he pressed his fingers into his eyelids in attempt to massage the oncoming headache away. There was too much to deal with, to much to think about. And honestly he just wanted to go back to sleep and not have to worry about anything for a while.

Taking in a couple of deep breaths Merle closed his eyes once more. He remembered cold hard fingers, the smell of rot incasing his every sense. Even vaguely remembered Eden calling his name, an Eden covered in blood and that rotting smell. Eden with her eyes wide she mouth moving in words he couldn't hear or understand. Then nothing, maybe a couple of blurry trees but that was it.

Merles stomach tightened.

Sitting up in the seat he looked around him for the first time. It seemed that instead of being in the woods or on that quarry, where he had figured his truck would be parked, they were on a highway, pulled off to the side of the road and huddled into a sloppy C formation, was the old caravan, a small fire occupied by the ragtag group that had formed from Atlanta sat off to the side, but even with the light of the small fire he couldn't find her, hell he didn't even know if she was with the group. He caught himself in that moment praying once again that she was safe, even though he swore never to pray to a god that wouldn't take him off that roof top.

Finally he was able to spot his brother sitting alone behind the old man's RV hunched over that damn crossbow. Closing the truck door as softly as he could he made a B-line towards the dark figure ignoring the stares and quiet whispers from the others in the group, the people who cost him his hand.

"Daryl," Merle started staring down at his little brother, "When you found me did ya see a mixed girl about 5 foot?" He asked holding his hand out a bit to demonstrate her height. The look of pure guilt that played on his brothers face almost made his knees buckle from under him and the breath leave his body in an audible huff.

"Merle… I didn't find you." Daryl said after he stood up to look Merle in the eyes.

"Well where is she?" He didn't want to touch the subject of his brother not looking for him, didn't want to feel the pain of that on top of possibly being responsible for Eden being left behind.

"We are keeping her in the back of the Jeep until we can decide if we can keep her or not." Shane said stepping around the RV and up beside the brothers, his eyes never leaving the crossbow Daryl gripped in his hands. "She's dangerous; damn near took my head off when we found you guys on the road. Can't have her around the kids."

"Aint no deciding needing to be done. She's staying with me and mine, plus if something as little as her can 'take your head off' then you maybe the one that's needing the protection aint them kids" Merle growled lowly taking a step towards the broad man his good hand clinched in a tight fist at his side.

"Just keep her and ''yours'' away from the rest of us. You got it?" Shane barked quietly backing away from the two and eventually going back to the small fire.

Stomping over to the black jeep at the far end of the caravan of cars he found what he was looking for with swift kick to the shoulder.

"I told you if you came back here I was gonna kick your nasty lily white ass didn't I!" A soft voice cried out to him before he felt the stinging pain of the toe of her boot hit his side this time.

"You best calm the fuck down Half-breed 'for I leave you here." Merle chuckled as he grabbed her leg when she went to kick out again. "I came to get you and this is the thank you I get?"

"Just untie me Merle." Her still seething voice pierced through the darkness after a moment of complete silence.

"What?"

"Your friends over there decided to tie me up and sit me in the dark ass jeep. He's all hurt and shit cause he couldn't take a hit. Fucker shouldn't have been talking shit." Eden said with a scowl on her face as Merle helped her climb out of the jeep.

"Follow me and wipe that damn look off your face 'for I start calling you Daryl." He stated without another look back at her and made his way back to the RV where Daryl sat waiting for his brother to return. His ears burning with the effort it took to try and easy drop on the conversation Merle was having with the new girl.

Kicking at the dirt Eden followed the fading Merle in the distance. "Stop walking so damn fast. I cant see at night." She ended up calling after him when she had completely lost sight of him.

"I'm right in fucking front of you, stop messing around."

"Don't be a dick Merle. I cant see shit" She fumed back at him feeling a bit trapped without the use of her arms, the feeling slowly growing till it bordered on panic.

"Well, how the hell where you keeping watch in the truck?" Merle asked as he walked back to the doe eyed Eden.

"I may not be able to see at night, but neither can they. After months of having to move around at night my ears have made up for what my eyes cant see." Eden replied coming up to the now visible Merles left side and lifted her right elbow up towards him. "Lead the fucking way" She huffed as his rough hand clasped around her arm and pretty much drug her over to the RV she had seen earlier.

Paying no mind to the hunched shadow across from her, Eden ripped her arm away from Merles grip and sat with her back against the RV tire and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Well? You gonna go fetch something to get these damned zip ties off me or am I gonna have to be handless as well?" She said shivering a bit as the wind bit at her exposed arms. In truth she was beyond pissed at the man in front of her. She went through hell saving his ass, she was sore and still a bit shaken up, plus being left alone with her hands tied behind her in a roofless jeep at night hadn't helped her nerves.

Taking a moment to take a couple deep breaths Eden let her situation settle in. She was, in a sense, safe with the amount of people in this group it would make it easier to survive if they were attacked, and from what Merle had told her in the truck they weren't hostile, everyone other than the shit for brains Shane. Laying her head against the cool metal of the RV, Eden let the events of today replay through her head.

After Daryl had taken charge of Merle Rick and Shane had her in the Rv. Telling her it was the only place where a seat was available, she didn't try to protest, she was pretty much dead on her feet. She was told nothing of where she was or who these people where. Everything was left a mystery. The only company she had was the dying man in the mechanic hat. Jim, he had said his name was, even told her how he was bitten during an attack on their camp by a group of walkers. It was then, when he named off the list of the ones they lost did she come to an understanding about these people; they may have left Merle on that roof, but they had lost people too, some of the at least can't be all that bad.

In a coughing fit, the sick and broken man had hunched over and ended up tossed out of the small bed he was occupying. She had tried her best to put the man back onto the bed but with the road rocking the RV in every direction she soon ended up falling over the man herself with a crash and a yelp. That was how the Asian, Glenn she remembered, found her. It wasn't the most ideal situation to be caught in, and from the looks on the thin mans face, it didn't look to good on her part. With a yell for them to stop the RV and the help of a bitter looking blonde they had the now passed out Jim back to his bed and Eden on her face with a knee to her shoulders.

"Why the hell did you stop for Dale?" Eden could feel the male ego coursing through the room, and after a few unintelligible words, she could hear the thundering footsteps coming closer. "Andrea, get off her I got this. Why don't you go get Rick and tell him we have a situation in here."

After the buffalo removed itself from her back Eden was quick to her feet. The first thing she noticed about the man in front of her was the hat. In big white letters COP was sprawled across the front, Shane, she thought to herself. Big, bulky, and sporting a very nice broken nose, he looked exactly how Merle told her he did. Surprisingly, Merle was a very detailed story teller.

"You find it right to attack a sick man?" Shane asked a sneer plastered across his face, taking a step toward her.

"I was helping him up, he fell over while he was coughing. " Eden stood her ground. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her. "Where's Merle?"

"Here I thought we left all the trash back in Atlanta. Say, where did you find that piece of shit anyways?" He said openly looking her up and down. He's gaze making her a bit unsteady.

"Watch yourself, best keep your thoughts to yourself and your damn eyes in your head." She fumed though clinched teeth, her eyes searching for anything to protect herself with if the time came.

With a chuckle Shane rubbed the back of his neck giving a swift look behind him, then in a low whisper leaned in closer to Edens short frame, " You best watch YOUR tone lil girl. You and that drugged up piece of shit redneck are…."

With a click of her tongue Eden hauled her fist back and aimed straight for Shane's jaw. The satisfying burn in her hand along with loud crack of bone against bone made the fact that when he had recovered from the hit and shoved her into the wall all the less painful.

"What's going on here?" The loud voice of the man she had held at knife point, the man who cuffed him to the roof, Rick the Dick.

"The bitch attacked Jim and when I came to calm her down started attacking me." Shane spat pointing his finger inches from Eden's face.

"Oh bull, you fucking dick. What did I tell you bout that mouth of yours" Eden retaliated smacking his dirty hand away with as much force as she could.

Along the lines of 10 minutes, a bunch of throw accusations, and the examination of Shane's face, Eden ended up tied up and tossed rather harshly into the back of the jeep Merle had then found her in. To say she was relieved to see the dirty old redneck was an understatement.

"Officer friendly wanted to have a few words with ya before I set you lose" Merles ever over powering voice brought her from her reminiscing. "Already told him you weren't gonna be no trouble."

"Still…" The man said shaking his head slightly while he shifted from one foot to the other. "I have people to think about. My family is sitting right there around that fire. I need to know that you aren't going to start attacking people." The man said squatting down in front of her to get to eye level.

"I didn't attack anyone…" Leaning forward Eden looked in the mans eye, "and I wont attack anyone. Shane's a dick, but I promise to play nice."

With a nod he stood up motioning for her to follow him. "The name is Rick, tomorrow we will get you properly introduced to the rest of the group. Until then you should get some sleep. Everyone is sleeping in the cars tonight, im sure Dale wouldn't mind one more person in the RV."

"No need officer, she's gonna be with mine." Merle said with a jerk to his head, an indication that the sheriff was soon about to overstay his welcome.

"Thanks for the offer though. Oh, and my name is Eden. Eden Green."

**So that's it for this chapter, it's a bit shorter than the last I know. Reviews, as always, are welcomed and encouraged. I wanted to give you a look into Merles head a bit; he's really starting to care of our residential Half-breed. I plan on post the next chapter today, hopefully it wont take no longer than 30 minutes. Thank you all for reading, hope you have a great Wednesday :)**


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**Some words or phrases may offend some people, if it does I meant no harm.**

-Chapter Six-

Eden sat between the two rednecks as they chatted away quietly. Her hands becoming red from the amount of ringing she was putting them through, she couldn't help it though. She had so much on her mind, so much she wanted to say just didn't know how to get it out. Sighing she rubbed the built up sweat on her dirty jeans, careful of her knees. She hadn't really had time to look them over but by the pain coming off them she knew they were bad. Her head was starting to ache and the tightness in her chest was growing. If she didn't calm herself she would end up having a panic attack. Shaking her head, she arched her back and looked up at the stars, taking as deep of breaths as she could.

"Then, I hear this loud ass thump on the truck…" She could hear Merle retelling his brother how they had met. Only making her condition worse, she was trying to forget about it. Trying to forget about having to drag him through the woods… the feeling of the fear and panic. Closing her eyes she tried and failed to think of something else, something other than the dead that had been following them.

She was tired, hungry and sore. The previous dull ache in the back of her head, was now a loud pounding making her squeeze her eyes shut as hard as she could. It was in this moment that she realized she hadn't had anything to drink in almost 2 days, Merle having drank the last of her water. She had previously puked up the remainder of the last meal she had. The small can of mixed fruit she had shared with Aaron.

Looking between the two brothers her eyes hardened, Merle had his brother, he was still alive, he had his family. Sure it wasn't his fault Aaron was dead, but it was HER who led him…no carried him to his brother. To his group. Had he thanked her? No, he hadn't even given her two words since he introduced her to his brother Daryl.

Gritting her teeth Eden began to bounce her knee up and down, an escape for the built up rage in her. Soon, though her bouncing knee just wasn't enough. The more she heard Merles voice, the more she listened to him retelling his story the angrier she got.

"That's all I remember 'for I woke up in the truck." Merle finished with a satisfied sigh sitting back on his hands. Only looking over when Eden gave a big scoff. "Got somethin' you want to add to the story Half-breed?"

"Trust me Merle you Do Not want to know what I have to add to that… lovely story." She remarked making sure to put as much fire into that statement as she could. She knew Merle caught on to her bad mood when his brow knitted together and his back went straight.

"What cha talking about girl?" He asked leaning forward looking her in the eye. "Seems like you got a bit of an attitude. Mind sharing with the circle what has the princess all worked up?"

"Me? The princess? That's rich coming from someone who got carried for near 100 miles." Eden bit back, knowing full well that she hadn't carried the man nearly 100 miles, truth be known she didn't know how far she carried the man, nor did she care at this moment in time. 100 miles sounded pretty damn right to her.

"What cha mean?"

"What do I mean? WHAT DO I MEAN!? How the hell do you think you got here Merle" Eden fumed, saying his name with a much sarcasm as she could. "You don't know do you? Right, cause you was fucked up, passed out against a damn tree with a goddamned walker trying to clamp its teeth into you! You were so fucked up you couldn't protect yourself, FUCK you couldn't even wake the hell up! Wanna know how you got back to your family, got back to your fucking group?" Eden was standing now, her chest heaving and her eyes hard as she growled each sentence out in harsh whispers. " You want to know how you made it, how you got out without even a fucking scratch! I carried you! I fought for your life and mine. Even after I TOLD YOU we wouldn't survived with you on that shit, you still went out and done it! YOU STILL FUCKING ALMOST GOT US BOTH KILLED! You wouldn't be alive if I hadn't have carried you. If I hadn't protected you! If I hadn't have… if I …"

By now Edens anger had quickly died down to what she would call as a loss of respect she had once had ever so briefly for the aging man.

"Know what.. It may not mean anything to you Merle, but I don't think I can trust you. I was wrong about the man I thought you were. I was just wrong, actually now... I'm surprised that you didn't just drive away when I was out scouting." Eden added in a low voice, her eyes never leaving Merle, her voice icy.

"Eden.."

"No Merle, you got your brother. There aint no more to say, aint nothing left between you and me. Daryl, it was nice meeting you." With a smile at the blue eyed man she turned around and made her way to the now dying fire where the group had once occupied. With everyone gone to sleep in their respective cars, it left the small clearing to Eden. To her surprise not too long after she laid down on the hard ground was she asleep, walkers be damned. If tonight was her time to die. So be it.

_Eden was running, her chest heaving. Blood covering her head to toe, the blood from her taxi driver, causing her once baby blue t'shirt to stick to her skin. It had happened so fast, the radio broadcast, the wreak, waking up to the old taxi driver who once had such kind brown eyes, chewing on her leather jacket. The force of his teeth trying to break through her skin had caused her to scream. No amount of reasoning would get him off of her. So she did what she could, she slammed his head into the over turned roof until he stopped moving. Until she couldn't breathe._

_After she had crawled out over the broken glass she made her way down the empty neighborhood. A silence permitting the air, a silence soon interrupted buy the thundering moans of the undead. Before she knew it she was being chased by the neighbors she had once loved, the children she had babysat, and the one old woman who would bake her family a pumpkin pie every Christmas._

_"I'm so sorry Mrs. Slight." Eden thought as she lowered her shoulder and rammed her body into the growling old woman. Sending her flying into the white picket fence, impaling her on its jagged edges._

_Rounding the edge of the street Eden could see her house just feet in front of her. The old minivan still parked out front. 'They are still home!' Running through the front door Eden gave a sigh of relief. The familiar atmosphere bringing a sense of calm over her hammering heart._

_"Mom, Aaron, David? Come on! We got to go, the whole neighborhood has gone to he…." Eden stopped outside her parents living room. The color red covered almost every visible surface. She looked down to find she was standing in a puddle that she knew for a fact to be blood. "M…mommy?" Eden chocked following the large dark pool around the edge of the couch. The sight before her would always be burned into her mind._

_David her stepfather, the man who loved her mother more than anyone she had even known, was crouched over her mother, his face buried into the side of her neck, the grunting and smacking coming from him, telling her that he wasn't mourning. No he was eating._

_Her footsteps flattered on the account of her knees trying to give out. The small noise had caught David's' attention. His blood covered face jerking towards her. A piece of her mother's flesh slinging from his lips and onto Eden's shoe. David stood to make his way towards her, no doubt to start on his next meal. When all of a sudden he fell to the floor. He mother who she had once thought of as dead, climbing over him, pressing his thrashing body into the floor._

_"RUN EDEN BABY! THE TREE HOUSE! GET TO THE TREE HOUSE!" He mothers once honey smooth voice now sounded like she was drowning, her once rosy cheeks now pale and covered in her own blood._

_"Mom, come with me! We can get to the hospital! We can save you!" Eden yelled watching as he mothers light started to fade from her eyes, her hold on her husband loosening._

_"My brave little girl… So big now. I love you so much baby. My sunshine…" Edens mother went slack against Davids back a small smile playing against her lips. Choking back her tears Eden ran to the back of the house, and out the door leading to the fenced in back yard and up the ladder to the tree house Aaron and David had built the summer before._

_Closing the small hatch behind her Eden pressed herself flat against the wooden floor. Her sobs racking through her whole body. Not caring about how loud she was being Eden cried her soul out._

_"E…Eden?" A small voice came from the dark corner two small feet poking out from under the mass blankets piled up. "Eden that you?"_

_"Aaron? Oh God Aaron!" Eden cried crawling over to the small bundle holding him as the both cried for the loss of their family._

_They had staying in that tree house for almost two days until Aarons stomach became too loud for Eden to ignore. Making her way back into the house she used to love, Eden ended the brief second life of her mother and step-father. Letting Aaron take a quick bathroom break and have a quick bite to eat. Then they made their way to Atlanta, the only place Eden had previously heard was safe, before the radio transmission in the minivan cut off._

_Aaron and Eden had spent the last two months in the woods after their car had ran out of gas on the way out of the overrun city. Atlanta had been a bad idea the city had fallen, any hope she had once held for their survival was cut in half. Surviving on nothing but squirrels and boiled maple leaves Eden and Aaron had become hard and silent. The young boy who was once crying and scared was gone, in his place was a man. In such a short time Eden had watched her baby brother grow, and it broke her heart. He deserved to be worrying about doing his homework and playing ball with his friends. Not help keep her and himself safe and alive._

_Raising her hand as a single for Aaron to stop, Eden waited and listened. The edge of the city had held only a few walkers so far, hopefully, today luck would be on their side. With a quick whistle Eden pointed to the far building where she spotted a loan walker trying to reach a couple birds perched on the fire escape. With a skill that made Eden's chest ache Aaron quickly and quietly took the walker out while Eden kept watch. The click of his tongue signaling the all clear had Eden running up beside the boy and around the minimarts northern side. Suddenly a man on a horse flew by her, nearly knocking her on her ass, Aaron was quick in pulling his sister back and behind a toppled over dumpster, luckily in time to hide from the horde of Walkers currently chasing after their next meal._

_"Are you ok?" Aaron whispered the fear evident in his eyes. Lifting a finger to her lips to tell him not to speak she nodded her head giving him a quick wink and for the hell of it a quick kiss on his forehead. Making his nose crinkle up, a brief flash of the little boy he used to be. Eden had to look away before she got emotional._

_They sat there for a long time, even after the echo of shuffled feet stopped and the group of moans had passed in the distance. Cautiously they crept around the dumpster their silent footsteps swift and precise around the front of the minimart and into the unlocked front door. Eden hated going into unlocked places, no lock meant that anybody or anything could be in there. Sliding through the small opening Aaron created Eden dropped her duffle bag to the ground and waited for Aaron to zip-tie the front door. His brilliant idea, one that had saved their asses a time or two. With a quick nod Eden pulled out another of Aarons ideas. I small Mason Jar filled with metal odds and ends and covered in squirrel fur. Be it a screw or a piece of broken down car, if it clicked against the glass then it would do. Rolling it down one of the middle isle of the store Eden and Aaron waited. Without disappointment 3 loan walkers wearing Peggy's Minimart aprons shuffled and grabbed for small fur covered jar. Pointing to the two walkers she would be taking out Eden and Aaron advanced on the temporarily distracted employees. Eden raised her shot gun and took aim, and using the small knife Aaron attached to the side and took out the first through its rotten temple using its head as a silencer she shot the second where it stood. Looking over in time to watch Aaron stab his walker through the top of its decayed scull, with his vicious looking hunting knife before shaking his head at the mess she had made of herself, bits of walker hanging off her shirt._

_With a shrug of her shoulders she picked up the noisemaker, placed it in her duffel bag, and proceeded down the isles grabbing can after can and quickly tossed them through the opening. Going past the bread isle completely Eden came up on the pharmacy looking relatively untouched. Pointing to the door she waited for Aaron to open it so she could maneuver in and survey the area, something they had once saw in a police drama that surprisingly went well. It seemed that they hit a jack pot. Until they heard, what she could only describe as a car alarm, going off and splintering through the quiet._

_"We got to get out of the city, that thing is going to alert every Walker in the damned state!" Aaron alarmed in a hesitant whisper._

_"Language!" Eden barked scowling at her brother weighing her options. Stay and gather the medication and maybe make it out or run out now and make it out alive. Shaking her head that she even had to go through her options. Zipping and throwing her duffle bag on to her back Eden grabbed Aaron by his arm and pulled him to the front door where he cut the zip ties and they ran out of the store and around the corner where they saw a block truck back into the old shopping store across the street. Hesitant of the survivors and better off on their own Eden and Aaron sank back into the shadows rounding the corner coming face to face with a blonde hair little girl in a flower sundress, one of her bright yellow dress shoes where missing and her foot laid at an awkward ankle. The slight breeze making her two pigtails float in the wind, a breeze that sent Eden and Aarons fresh sent into the air, and directly into the small girls face. With a jerk of her head the small girl leapt to Eden her flesh the only thing on her mind._

_Eden thought for sure this was it, she was going to get bit and have to leave Aaron all alone in the woods. In that very moment Eden expected to feel the rotten teeth rip into her skin, instead she felt Aarons small arms wrap around her and turn her around so he instead took the bite. He was the one who would be leaving her alone._

_"Eden?"_

**Here's that other chapter I promised you. I MIGHT have another up today, though I don't want to rush it. Those of you who had previously read A Garden for Eden, know that we are about to hit uncharted territory, so I want to make it as good as I can. As always reviews are welcomed and encouraged. **


	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**Some words or phrases may offend some people, if it does I meant no harm.**

-Chapter Seven-

Eden woke up covered in sweat, her thin grime covered wife beater sticking to her skin. She shook her head in an attempt to forget her dream and took a look around the tent she woke up in. The skylight was open overhead giving her a view of the faintly lit sky, the soft light that it gave off let her see youngest Dixon laying so close to the tent wall that if he rolled over he would take the whole thing down. Throwing the warm wool blanket off of her, Eden stretched. Quickly she put her arms down.

_'No wonder Dixon looks like he is trying to escape. I smell like straight up shit.' _Eden thought, the sour look on her face becoming even more disgusted the more she moved. She stank; there was no nice way to put it. _'I straight up fucking smell'_. Trying her best to get out of the tent and into fresh air without waking the youngest brother up, Eden felt a pang of sadness for Aaron.

Outside the tent Eden took a huge breath of fresh air hating the fact that her own funk nearly suffocated her. Looking around she noticed that the old truck was now a couple feet away from everybody, one side facing the woods while the tent was placed at its rear, the back towards the group. Eden just sighed at the clear signal that no one was welcomed in their little camp. A quick look inside the truck had Eden's heart aching a bit more. Merles large frame was curled up into a tight ball on the small bench seat, his shoulder shivering ever so slightly at the cool air, half his body hanging off the edge as the other half desperately tried to curl into the leather vest that lay over his side. Quickly Eden retrieved the blanket from the tent, opened the truck door and lay to blanket over the aged man.

_'My mama would whip me blind if she knew I was even talking to a man like you.' _Eden laughed to herself as she grabbed Merle's knife off the dashboard and quietly closed the door. She never could stay angry to long even now she could feel her heart letting go of the hatred she had felt for Merle.

Leaning her back against the truck door, Eden looked towards the brightening sky. She wanted nothing more than for the world to be back the way it was. She would give up everything for just one more day with her family.

"Take a deep breath to hold back your tears, one more to calm your nerves, and another to clear your head." Eden smiled a bit at the habit her uncle had forced Eden into at a young age, always telling her to take three deep breaths when it felt like her emotions were going to take control over her. A vet and at times her very on psychologist, her uncle had always been her best friend.

The camp would be awake soon, and if the night before was any indication as to what today would be like Eden needed to start it off on a good foot. By the look of the sky Eden figured she had a good two hours until anyone would be up, enough time for her to run to the woods, get some firewood, gather whatever edible thing she could find, and be back before anyone knew she was gone. She was going to try and make things right today, these people were in fact just people.

_'Plus you could never have to many friends.' _Eden thought as she twirled the knife around in her hand and made her way through the dark underbrush.

Eden wanted to scream for joy when she had found the small stream running through the woods, she may not have any kind of soaps but she could at least rinse the funk off of her body. With a wide childish smile she dropped the bundle of firewood she had collected and splashed into the small stream of water, laughter bubbling in her throat threatening to burst from her at any second. The morning had gotten steadily hotter, though she knew that it would have been wise to head back to camp hours ago, Eden couldn't help but loose herself in the quiet green of the world around her. It was almost as if nothing had happened. Though she didn't get lost entirely, ever so often as she got further away from the camp Eden would use Merles knife and dig a tiny arrow at the base of a tree pointing her in the right way. Aaron had come up with the idea when she had gotten them lost at the beginning of the Dead World, always coming up with ideas to help out or keep them safe.

With a quick look around to make sure she was really alone, Eden stripped her shirt and pants off and started to try and scrub off some of the grime that had built up, the water around her stayed a steady brown color as she scrubbed, humming to herself. _'The wet clothes will help cool me off on the way back.'_ Eden thought to herself smiling, true she had been gone more than her two hour time limit, Aaron's grave had taken longer to dig then she had thought, the ground had gone hard on the shaded area she picked out, she would just have to jog back most of the way.

After most of the blood and mud had been washed from her clothes, Eden went to washing herself off shaking her head at the growing hair on her legs and under her arms._ 'Defiantly going to have to find some razors somewhere. Ha, the end of the world and I'm worried about a little bit of hair.' _Eden smiled using the leg of her pants to help wash some of the built up dirt off.

Her smile vanished as quickly as it came. Her knees and shins were decorated in dark purple bruises, swelling her legs in an almost grotesque way. She tried to wash the tender area, but gave up soon after when tears pricked the edges of her vision. Moving on to her chest and arms Eden snarled her nose at the state they were in.

_'Jesus, im covered in fucking bruises.' _ She grumbled running the pants legs across her chest careful not to press to hard on the tender areas and finally under her arms._ 'I need some fucking deodrant man.'_

Daryl grumbled as he made his way through the woods, Merle had damn near thrown a fit when he woke up and that new girl wasn't in the tent. It pissed him off to tell the truth, after she had nearly took his head off last night, him and Merle went to moving the truck and setting up the tent. Merle then went over to wake up the little asshole, but decided to get Daryl to carry her heavy ass instead and place her "carefully" in their damned tent. That wasn't even the part that had him so fucking mad, his brother then made him sleep in the damn thing with her, while he took the truck. He knew how uncomfortable Daryl was with people.

That morning he didn't even care to look to see if she was still in the damn thing when he had gotten up, it stunk so bad in there that he damn near lost his lunch. He couldn't help but get embarrassed thinking that was why she left so goddamned early, not being able to breathe through his smell. Daryl went over and kicked the door on his brother truck and waited for the yelling to start, to his surprise though Merle woke up relatively calm going straight over to the tent.

"Get your damn crossbow and get in dem damn woods and find her." Was all Merle said before he marched into the woods himself, his face red. Mumbling about how she was gonna get herself killed. Daryl was a bit worried about Merle finding her first, knowing from experience how uncontrolled his brothers anger was.

That was when Daryl found a small arrow at the base of one of the trees close to camp, with a little more searching he found a number of the small arrows, each leading the way he came. Daryl gave an appreciative nod and quietly making his way through the woods.

Stopping to look at another of the marks, Daryl felt something wet drip steadily on the back of his neck, the cool water sending a slight shiver down his spine. Stepping back he looked up into the canopy of leaves looking straight into a pair of bright green eyes.

"The hell you doing up there girl?" He called up, wiping the water from his neck.

"Heard you stomping through the woods, didn't know if you were a walker or not. Better safe than sorry. . .You followin my arrows?" Eden asked struggling to climb down the broad truck of the tree. "Easier to get up than to get down these damned things"

"I don't stomp… there aint no way you heard me." Daryl defended glaring at the short girl in front of him, noticing for the first time the flakes of brown and gold that danced through her eyes. "Why you wet?"

"Found a stream a couple yards back. Washed up…I uh.. smelled. You following my arrows right?" Eden asked again while she picked up her discarded firewood. "Good idea right. Aaron thought of it, this way I don't get lost."

Daryl just stared at her, the scowl on his face never wavering. With a scoff the only acknowledgement he gave that he heard anything she said, he stalked off towards camp. Never slowing down to see if Eden had followed him, a bit of approval bubbled in him when he saw her out of the corner of his eye, her step almost as silent as his.

"You walk good." Daryl said, mentally beating himself up, hoping she didn't take it the wrong way and start huffing at him like everyone else at camp did when he tried to talk to them.

"Thanks, Aaron and I had to learn quick when the world went to shit." Her light voice washed over Daryl's worries. He took note of how free her voice seemed to be, making it a little easier to talk to her, making him less nervous of her judging him. To Daryls surprise, and slight delight, she didn't try to further the conversation, just walked beside him keeping pace with his long strides.

"Stop!" Eden said urgently a hint of excitement in her voice as she pulled on the strap of his game bag, leading him to a bush off to their right, dark purple berries scattered over the green leaves. "Think we can eat them?"

"Wouldn't want to risk .." Daryl cut off watching her pop one of the 'could be' deadly berries past her plump lips. "The hell you think you're doing!?" He asked resisting the urge to put his fingers down her throat. "You tryin to die girl? You don't know if them are poison or not."

"Aint dead, now we know. Start grabbing some, instead of standing there and looking at me like you aint got no sense." Eden laughed picking handfuls, popping a few in her mouth every now and again, making Daryl's permanent scowl deepen. What is wrong with this girl? Instead of dwelling on what he didn't know, Daryl set to the task of picking the berries off of one side of the bush trying to ignore the bubble of joy skipping around on the other side. That was until he felt a berry hit is damn forehead.

"Now you tryin to take out my eyes. Damn woman calm yourself down." Daryl fussed shaking the small bush for emphases only to get another berry thrown at him in reply. "What I say? Can't even fucking listen right!" Daryl growled picking a couple of the last berried off the bush.

"Don't be so sour. Lighten up Daryl you cant be so low all the time." Eden's smile and carefree way was starting to make him feel a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't use to people not flinching when he talked, wasn't use to someone being friendly with him.

"You always this damn hyper and loud. That why you got your boyfriend Aaron killed?" He growled, instantly regretting his words as he watched the happiness that once radiated off the women in front of him fade away, even the sun seemed to shine a little less bright.

"Lets get back to camp." Eden's dead pan voice seemed to crush the air as she put the berries she carried into his opened bag and walked away, leaving Daryl and the pile of firewood behind.

"Shit." Daryl muttered picking up the wood and heading after the hunched form in front of him. _'There you go putting your damn foot in your mouth. Can't even talk to people right.' _He b-rated himself, the way back was filed with silence and the occasional angry grumble from the small woman in front of him. Daryl watched as she clenched and unclenched her fist, her shoulders shaking every now and again.

"You know what!" They loud bark of her voice surprised him. He didn't expect her to ever talk to him again. Let alone yell at him. "You are a fine piece of work Dixon. For your information Aaron… Aaron was my baby brother. He was 9! Yes it was my fault he died, yes I should have paid more attention, but that doesn't give you any right to say that to me. I brought you your brother back, the least you can do is be fucking thankful!" By this time she was slamming her finger into his chest, her eyes full of fire, staring straight into his. "I may not respect you but I treat you like a god damned person. I expect the same treatment. You gonna be a man and stand up and do what is fucking right or are you going to be a worthless piece of shit who treats everyone else like they are dogs?

"Everyone has anger Daryl, it doesn't give you an excuses to hurt people." She finished taking the fire wood out of his arms and stepping out into the clearing where the group had gathered.

Daryl was left staring after her speechless, everything in him wanted to take a jab at her, make her scared of him. Still her words rang clear in his ears making his brain feel heavy. Her words had impacted him in a way that he didn't think was possible. Gripping the shoulder strap of his bag as tight as he could he tried to squeeze the thoughts from his head, squeeze the heaviness away. Yet they stayed.

Eden made her way across the small clearing towards the rest of the group her anger helping to hide her nerves. Inside she was a bundle of emotions, scared that they would reject her, nervous about what they were thinking about her, sad as she saw the children running around thinking how Aaron would have loved to meet them, and angry at Daryl Dixon for being a complete dick.

She smiled politely at the sheriff, signaling that she was bringing over some fire wood silently asking him where she should put it. Her nerves kicking into high gear as the sheriff started to jog over to her, his hat flying off his head. Eden couldn't help but chuckle as he turned around to pick it back up, a boyish grin placed on his face.

"You saw that did you." Rick laughed as he reached her, shaking his head. "You'd had thought I would have gotten use to this damned thing by now. " His light hearted chuckle eased Eden's nerves.

"I won't tell no one." She replied shifting the firewood in her arms. Shuffling from foot to foot. The look the tall brown haired woman was giving her was making her a bit nervous… nervous and defensive. _'The fuck she think she is glaring at me like that?'_

"Here let me take that from you. Is this where you went off too? Shane and I wanted to ask you a few questions and introduce you to the group this morning but you and both the Dixons weren't anywhere to be found" Ricks gaze had her frozen into place, like she had done something wrong. Like when you where called to the principals office, thinking you were in trouble when all he really wanted to know was to know how you were getting use to the school.

"You have that.. cop look right about now Rick. Am I in some kind of trouble?" Eden asked her eyes automatically scowled at the man.

"Oh, no no. I was just asking. Though next time please let someone know. It would cause less…"

"Rick!" A sharp yelled echoed across the clearing, the brown haired woman sent him a look, her eyebrow raised to her hairline. Rick simply shook his head, a low growl trembled through his throat.

"Would you like to meet the group?" He asked not taking his gaze off the annoyed woman.

"Don't think I got a choice. The way that ladies looking at you, Id say you don't have a choice either. Looks like a bitch.. lets uh, save her for last. Eh?" Eden tried to joke nudging the man.

"Aint that the truth.." She heard him mutter as he led her toward the small gathering, taking the wood from her with a silent thank you.

**Well, there you go. That's the last of the old chapters, time to get started on what's coming up. I know I've updated pretty much everyday with these, but now it will take a little longer. I hope to get a new update every week or every other week. Once again, I don't have a beta so im flying solo for the time being. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please send them my way. As always, reviews are welcomed and encouraged. **


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**Some words or phrases may offend some people, if it does I meant no harm.**  
><strong>!Quick AN if you want to listen to the playlist I use while writing just message me and Ill send you the link :)!**

-Chapter Eight-

Everything had gone...relatively well in the lines of introductions, that was until Rick had introduced his wife. Lori, aka the woman Eden had just called a bitch. To say that she was embarrassed was an understatement. Her eyes had instantly found Rick's, waiting to find some kind of accusation hid in them, to her amazement all there was, was amusement. That had made her feel a little bit better, but she knew that Lori would find out about her name calling sooner or later.

She decided not to stick around to long with the group, by the way they were looking at her, she couldn't say they minded when she snuck away. They didn't seem to approving of her staying with them and from the smirk on Shane's face, she could tell he had something to do with it. She really wanted to just smash his pretty little head in but she had promised Rick she would play nice. Instead Eden made her way back to the tent, only to get cut off by a fuming Merle. 

"Where in the ever loving fuck have you been?" Eden could almost feel the fire in his eyes, the stiffness in his shoulders making his anger more pronounced. "I've been looking all over Gods damned creation searching for your ass! You know how dangerous that is? Running off like that and not telling anyone! Anything could have happened to you!"

She had to admit she was touched, on some level she knew that Merle was the reason she had woken up in the tent. Not that Daryl wasn't a nice guy but he had some serious people issues, and she doubted he would have touched her without someone telling him to. 

"I hadn't realized I was still your problem Merle and for your information, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much." She wasn't really angry, in fact she was kind of happy to be honest. Here was big bad Merle, big bad Racist Merle, worried about her, having full conversations with her, without using any kind of demeaning nicknames. Progress!

"This aint about being able to take care of yourself, its about worrying people who care for you, its about not having enough sense in telling someone were you're going. You never know what could happen." Merle face, still red and slightly sunburnt, but in this moment Eden could kiss him.  
><em>'He cared. Awe'<em> 

"Thank you for caring Nubby." Eden smiled using the nickname she had dubbed him, hoping to let him know that she wasn't mad and that she understood what he was saying. "Next time Ill let someone know where I'm going."

"Well...I... that's all im asking." Merle didn't know what to really think, he thought she would fight him tooth and nail, yell at him for yelling at her. Yet here she was, with that starry eyed look, smiling at him like he was the best thing in the world. "You get into my stash Half-breed or are you just falling in love with old Merle?" He joked, laughing when she playfully slapped his shoulder, muttering something that sounded a lot like "shit face".

"Ya'll gonna stand there and flirt all damned day or are you going to help me hunt?" Daryl's voice cut through their laughter bringing them back to the real world. Daryl was a bit afraid of Merles reaction to his accusation, waiting for him to flip out and swing at him. Instead, surprising Daryl and at the same time filling his chest with envy, Merle just laughed at him, and patted Eden's head affectionately.

"Don't get your Fruit of the Looms all knotted up baby brother, we're coming. Just had a little understanding." Daryl, all though happy with the change in his brother, was jealous that this woman was the one to bring out his more … human side. He had tried his whole life to get an ounce of affection from his brother, and here she comes and just... what asks for it? Never had his brother smiled and laughed with him the way he was with her. Daryl would have thought they were having sex if it wasn't for his understanding of his brother. Merle never looked at one of his lays like he was looking at her. Affection was clear on his face, a kind of joy that made Daryl stomach knot up.

He didn't like feeling like this, he wanted to be happy, he wanted to joke around and laugh like they were, but he knew his brother. Once he ran out of drugs this happy go lucky attitude would disappear and old mean Merle would be back. Who would have to pick up the pieces then? That woman would more than likely run away leaving the mess for him to clean up. Merle wouldn't thank him, wouldn't pat his back , wouldn't smile at him the way he was her.

This was all he could think about as he trekked through the woods searching for something for the group could eat. His anger and frustration growing at how little sound the small woman was making behind him. Merle had volunteered her to go with him, saying he had "shit he needed to do".

"He loves you, you know." He hated the way she seemed to being reading his mind, her light voice replaying around in his ears.

"The hell you talking about?" He growled, trying to intimidate her, wanting her to stop talking and at the same time wanting her to tell him more.

"He told me, when we first met. He said a lot of things, though he kept saying how much he cared about you. How proud he was of you. All he really talked about was you...and well the army." She seemed to be surveying the trees above them, not noticing that he had stopped and thankfully not noticing the shocked look on his face.

"The fuck you know? You've only know him what, for a day? I've known the man my whole life, and he has never..." Daryl stopped himself not able to go one. How could she have drawn this out of him?  
>"I know it hurts." He was thankful she hadn't said anything else, he didn't know if he could take another confession. He felt hope spark in his chest, he hated it. Hoping for Merles love was useless and only ends in pain.<p>

Daryl tired to drag hunting out as long as he could, wanting to make her complain. He didn't know why he wanted to find her weak, it wasn't like him to want someone else to hurt. Still no matter how long they were out there she never complained, no longer talked and hardly made any noise. She had even taken down a walker or two that he hadn't notice, shoving Merles hunting knife deep in their skulls. By the time he had decided they had enough game, it was already dark outside. He silently cursed at himself hating that he had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't paid any attention to what direction they were going.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw Eden carving a small arrow into the truck of a nearby tree. "You said your brother, Aaron, came up with that?" He asked pointing at the mark.

"Yeah, he said it would always lead u back to each other. No matter how far we get separated." Her voice was filled with sadness, Daryl could only imagine the pain reflecting in her eyes.

"You don't have to talk about it, sorry to bring him up. Didn't mean to hurt you." Daryl mumbled, not use to really having a conversation with anyone other than Merle and a couple guys at the bar. "Sorry 'bout before too."

"Doesn't hurt. It kinda makes everything better, remembering him that is. It's almost like he's not really gone. Just...lost... and thank you." Her smile was bright bringing another knot to his stomach, this one unfamiliar.

"Better get back, don't want them sending a search party out after us." He joked or at least hoped it sounded like a joke. Though his nerves lessened at her easy laughter. 

After dropping a couple of freshly skinned and deboned squirrels off with T-dog and Carol, letting them know that they, Merle, Eden and himself had their own food, he made his way over to the small fire they had made.

"There you are. I have something for you." Merle grin was infectious, making the edges of Daryl mouth reluctantly curl up.

"What you talking about?" He questioned taking a seat on the other side of Eden, looking into the boiling pot. Wishing for anything other than squirrel and beans.

"Pot." Merles grin grew wider.

"Im not a dumb ass Merle, I know what it is." Daryl was use to Merle insults on his intelligence, though it didn't make it hurt any less.

"No, I mean I have pot and the little Half-breed over here rolls like a champ." Merles laughter echoed across the small clearing, though it was nice to hear his brother having fun, he was a little worried about the dead that lurked in the woods.

"Calm the fuck down Merle. You trying to kill us all with your damn happiness." Eden said sternly a smile on her face. Daryl watched as his brother only shrugged, waving the baggy in front of her face. He still wasn't use to this nice Merle.

"So your saying that you want to share. With us?" Daryl was reluctant to accept that, remembering the many times Merle had tricked him, making him feel like a fool.

"Well." Merle paused for a moment, a look crossed his face, one Daryl couldn't place. "I would like to be better." Was all he said before he got up and made his way into to the truck. "Ya'll coming or did you think we would be smoking out here? There may not be any law anymore but I doubt that those pigs would be to happy about it."

Daryl chuckled a bit at Eden's egger squeal as she ran over to the truck and jumped in, looking at him expectantly. Bracing himself Daryl followed her, squeezing in beside her and closing the door.

It was a bit tight when Merle finally made his way into the truck, adjusting himself until he was comfortable, pushing Eden closer into Daryl's side. She noticed the awkward way Daryl sat; his back board straight, head forward, arms tight against his sides. Though she couldn't blame him for the last part, it was a tight fit, and Merle wasn't making it easy. Taking Daryl's hand, she ignored the way his head jerked to look at her and put it behind her. Whispering a "more room" low enough so that Merle wouldn't notice.

"Here you go girl, whip us up something nice!" Merle encouraged. "Make it big, this is a first time all of us are smoking together, I want us to have a good time."

"You asked for it Nubby, one fatty coming up." Eden started to relax sinking farther into the truck and at the same time, farther into Daryl side, ignoring the hardness of his body.

Eden wasn't sure how long they sat there smoking, she had lost count of how many bad jokes Merle told. Everything had started out smooth, but after to long things seemed to escalate. Eden now had her back firmly planted into Daryl's side, his arm having previously fallen over her left shoulder, his hand on her knee, her right foot laying over Merles lap and her left rest against his bicep. At some time during their smoking Merle had taken off her shoes and some how her socks, with the excess of "wondering how small her feet were". Once his only hand started moving towards her bare feet though, she called bullshit. Merle ended up being to strong and ruthless as he tickled her mercilessly. After the 'war', they had just stayed in that position lighting up another joint, and listening to Daryl ramble about anything and everything. Eden had a feeling he didn't smoke that much.

Eden knew that she was way to stoned when she started liking the way Daryl laughed and waiting for the next moment he did. She started noticing little things about him; the way he snapped his fingers when he thought of something "funny", how his thumb was mindlessly running soft circles over her knee, the was his breathing was matching hers, or how hard his body was. She started wondering what was under his shirt, how it would feel to run her finger through his...

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap_

"Oh shit, it's the cops!" Merle joked slapping her foot and rolling down his window, "You want my license and registration?" The look on Shane's face was anything but amused.

"You do know that marijuana is illegal right?" Shane's voice was full of venom, his eyes hard as he looked over the three of them.

"Are you gonna tie us up and throw us in the back of your jeep?" Daryl spit at him, taking Shane completely by surprise, he wasn't use to the younger Dixon even making eye contact with anyone. "I don't know if you've noticed but, the worlds gone. Plus we aint hurting no one. We're away from the group, kids are asleep or should be, and we had the windows rolled up. So why the fuck did you come over here?" Shane didn't really know what to say, this was the most he had heard Daryl speak the two months everyone had been together. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere with him, so his eyes went down to the girl under his arm.

"I'm taking a wild guess here in saying that it was you who supplied the drugs."He sneered. Something about Eden got under his skin, he wanted her gone away from the group. He could deal with the two Dixons they usually kept to themselves yet since she's been here Merle tried helping out around camp while they had gone hunting and now Daryl was talking back. Shane wanted nothing more than to get her as far away from them as possible, maybe he could fuck her and then convince Rick that she needed to leave. He hadn't really had sex since Rick came back from the dead and he could use it. Before he could say anything else Merle had rolled up his window. _'Fucking asshole'_

Merle, all though high as a kite, still managed to notice the way his baby brother was sitting with their Half-breed. He smiled at himself at how relaxed Daryl was, somehow for some reason Eden was good for them. Eden on the other hand had been staring at his baby brother for the past twenty minutes with a small smile on her face before that fucker Shane had showed up. It warmed Merle up a bit at the way Daryl's arm tightened around Eden when Shane decided to try and pick on her. His brother was thick when it came to women, so Merle decided that he was going to help them along the way. It may be because she had carried him, protected him and down right put him in his place every chance she got but Merle no longer thought of her as anything but Eden, his Half-breed.

The way she looked at him the night before, the disappointment in her eyes, it made him realize that he cared about what she thought of him. He had known her for a day and she had already wormed her way into his heart. Then she went and got herself missing, Merle damn near had a heart attack. He had found himself praying again, he couldn't find it in himself to care though. He had asked God for a way off that roof, for a purpose. He demanded that God show him He was real, that if He cared in anyway He would send him a sign. Damn it if He didn't listen, in the form of a small woman literally throwing herself on top of his truck.

Merle couldn't help but pat her foot affectionately, the old Merle fighting with him, calling him a pussy, saying how he couldn't believe he was letting a nigger control who he was. Fighting against the voice in his head he smiled, she wasn't controlling who he was, she was helping him be the man he always wanted to be.

"Shit, I'm feeling all emotional." He joked laughing a bit. "Plus I'm getting the munchies why don't we go eat some of that squirrel!" Opening the door he thought about how lucky he was that he still had his brother. "Oh, and … thank you for catching it for us baby brother." With that Merle hurried out the truck not wanting to face Daryl. It was kind of embarrassing how little of a relationship they really had, he vowed to fix that.

"See." Eden's smile knocked the wind out of the younger Dixon, her eyes seemed to sparkle. Daryl then noticed how close they had been this whole time, how close she was to him right now. He knew if he was sober that he'd start freaking out, but being as high as he was he couldn't find it in himself to move. Just stare at her, at her mouth. "Oh god, I have pot in my teeth don't I." Unfortunately she moved away from him and started running her fingers against her teeth.

"You got it." He lied hurrying out the truck and to the small fire where Merle was using the big spoon to eat out of the pot. He may be nicer but he still had no manners.

"I have something I want to say to ya'll. Especially you Daryl." He had never seen his brother so nervous, he seemed to be fighting with himself, his hand rubbing against his face.

"What's going on Nubby?" Eden walked around Daryl her hand reaching out instinctually patting him between the shoulder blades, choosing to ignore the fact that he had flinched against her touch. "Did you really have to eat out of the whole thing?" She laughed at how Merle's dismissive wave of his nub.

"I want ya'll to sit down. " Eden sat beside him, watching the way his leg was starting to bounce and decided to rest her hand on his knee and give it a reassuring squeeze, smiling as Daryl took his place on her other side. Merle looked at the both of them nodding his head. "I thought a lot last night and today... and you were right Eden. I cant survive or protect myself... I don't want to loose my brother like you lost yours."

Eden didn't really know where he was going with this, what he was really saying until he took out the small baggie of white rocks. She watched as he started twirling it around his fingers. 

"Daryl, you have taken care of me when I was... going through shit. I don't really have a right to ask you to do it again but I am. I also hope you'll stick around Eden. I talked to that asshole Rick while ya'll were out hunting. Told him what I planned on doing, let him know I wont be up to my best. I just want to be better. I don't want to die." That was all he said before he threw the bag into the small fire, and made his way to the truck.

Daryl didn't know what to think, Merle had just given up his drugs. Daryl had seen him run out of drugs and gone through withdrawals never had he given them up. That spark of hope in his chest grew bigger. His high was gone completely, the shock of what just happened leaving him in a clear state. He looked over at the woman beside him, a small smile on here lips. She had something to do with Merles change.

"He thanked me." Daryl couldn't help but say out loud. "He actually... wow." He felt like laughing, like crying. He wanted to hug Merle, wanted to hug Eden. Hell he would even hug Shane right now. Things were changing.

Daryl actually did laugh when Eden started eating out of the pot, using the same spoon Merle had used. Stuffing her cheeks full, juice running down her chin. Then it hit him,

"You don't act like everyone else does... did."

"What ya mean." She asked through mouthfuls sending bits of beans flying past her lips.

"People usually stay away from us, no one ever actually tries to spend time with us. It's been like that since we were kids. It's odd." He finished, refusing to look at her. He was too happy at the moment and didn't want to watch as she came to her senses.

"You are people, nice people. Maybe you're a little rough around the edges. I don't know. I just find it so easy to be with you guys, ya'll don't hide behind lies." She smiled as she got off the ground patting his shoulder and made her way into the tent, saying a quick goodnight. Daryl decided to stay outside a little longer. He wanted to watch the stars, he didn't want to sleep yet. This had been one of the best nights he had ever had. Merle was being a brother, there was someone here who didn't shy away from them. It took the world ending for something to finally go right for them. Now he just had to figure out what why he was starting to get this knot in his stomach every time he thought about Eden.

**:D Chapter Seven ya'll. I want to know what you guys think of it so far, what your opinions are. I have a job interview Monday (yay) so I might not be able to update as quickly as I have been. It might take me a week to do it but you will be getting them. Also as of today there are 17 days left until season 4. I cant wait! As always reviews are welcomed and encourage. OH!, one more thing before I go, we now have 502 views (yay), 31 favorites (hell yeah, thank you), and 54 followers (you guys rock). Thank you guys for reading and showing your pride. **


	9. Chapter Nine

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

-Chapter Nine-

Jim was gone; Jackie had woke everyone up the night Merle threw his drugs in the fire, letting everyone know that the sick man had had enough. It was sad, Eden didn't even know the man but it made her dizzy to think about having to go through that change alone. The group said their goodbyes and packed up. The Dixons were quick about moving on, being packed and in their truck in less than fifteen minutes they waited patiently ( for the most part that is) for the group to get a move on.

"Don't see why they insist on unpacking house and home when they knew we wouldn't be here long in the first place." Merle grumbled the fingers of his only hand twitching aimlessly against the steering wheel.

No one replied, Eden because she was to tired, only having gone to sleep moments before and Daryl because it was Daryl.

After the group had finally packed up, thirty minutes after the Dixons speeding packing, they headed out Eden watched the world pass by out of Daryl window, her eyes growing heavy.

"We're going to the CDC." Daryl's gruff voice waking her momentarily. Eden didn't know what they thought they would find there, she was just happy to go along for the ride. She felt comforted being with a group of people, a group of people that she so easily trusted. Hopefully it wouldn't come to bite her in the ass. Soon enough Edens eyes became to heavy to keep open and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

It had taken them three days to reach the first road block, everyone had hoped to reach the CDC by now, but with the semi crowed roads and the walkers, their pace left something to be desired. It took most of the day for the group to move the cars off the road and scavange what they could, Rick made the call for them to sleep in their cars that night, promising to get moving at first light. Merle had promptly kicked Eden and Daryl out of the truck, the lack of meth having made him more irritated and irrational as the hours passed..

That night Eden and Daryl spent the night in one of the mini vans they had pulled off to the side of the road. It had taken them awhile to fall asleep, feeling the restless hours with mindless chatter, laughing over stories and enjoying the easy, judgment lacking conversations. 

As the days passed Eden had found herself falling more and more in line with the group. Whether it was helping the women wash clothes, gossiping with Andrea and Amy or if it was taking watch, Eden was starting to feel more and more in tuned with the survivors around her. Still Eden couldn't help but worry about the older Dixon.

Daryl had tried to comfort her the best he could, but it didn't stop Eden from fussing over Merle. Always making sure he drank at least a bottle of water a day, taking it upon herself to find somewhere to fill it up again not wanting to take water away from the group; making sure he ate and giving him and sometimes Daryl most of her food, making sure he slept, even going as far as wiping the sweat off his head when the shaking got to bad. It was the night he lashed out at her that everything had changed between Daryl and Eden.

The had stopped for the day, almost a week into their journey to the CDC, everyone was happy to have a chance to stretch their legs. Everyone but Merle, each day had become harder and harder for the aging man. Eden couldn't help but fuss over him, wanting to help in anyway she could.

"It's really hot out here Merle, you sure you don't want to stay in the truck and turn on the A/C. It shouldn't use to much gas." Eden had come around to the drivers side, having been recently forced to ride with Shane after Merle had complained about being to squished.

Merle hadnt thought about what he was doing only knowing that her voice was echoing around his head causing his ears to ring, that the truck was to small and that he needed to be outside, that his skin was starting to feel to tight. He had thrown the door open with as much force as he could, using his foot for leverage, not turning when the truck door struck Eden and knocked her to the ground.

"Move out of the way next time nigger bitch!" Merle spat at her, kicking her foot.

"Stop being a dick Merle." Eden had huffed out, rubbing her now tender ass as she stood up closing the truck door. "Just take your water so we can get on with it, its almost dark." She shook the water at him trying to get him to take it. Instead he jerked her wrist forward bringing her against his chest, his eyes boring into hers.

"I'm going to say this one time and I want you to listen. I want you gone, I want you to stop bringing me shit, stop trying to replace me with your maggot food brother. "Saving" me wont erase the fact that _you_ got him killed, it's _your_ fault that he aint breathing anymore. You couldn't do one thing, couldn't save one _little_ boy. You're shit. Hell, your nigger ass is lower than shit. Trying to replace him with me. I don't want to breathe the same air as someone like you." Disgust dripped with ever word, eyes never leaving hers. The grip on her wrist was harsh, cutting off all feeling.

"Whats going on over their?" Rick called over, watching the way Merle never took his eyes off the small girl.

"Nothing, just saying thank you for the water."

Eden couldn't help it, as soon as Merle had released her arm Eden ran down the highway weaving in and out of the cars; passing the members of the group as the scavenged through the abandoned vehicles. She turned to hide behind a large Ashley Furniture truck when she ran straight into Daryl.

He hadn't said anything, just caught her as she was falling and pulled her to his chest and held her. He couldn't understand why he did it, yet they stood there, Daryl's arms wrapped tightly around Eden's shoulders and waist, almost holding her together as wailed into his chest. He didn't need to ask, he knew that Merle was to blame for the young woman breaking down.

Edens small fingers were digging into his back, trying to find some kind of purchase. Wanting to find some kind of stability. She needed something solid in this moment, needed someone to just keep her from losing herself. This was the first real time she had cried since Aarons death, the sobs hurt as they clawed their way up her throat, pounding through out her body. In this moment she let it all out, ever feeling she had been harboring in her chest, every aching thought. Over her loud sobbing she could faintly hear Daryl whispering soothingly into her hair. His thumbs rubbing soft circles into her flesh.

"Merle, is an ass. He will always be an ass, but you cant listen to him right now." Daryl finally said after she had calmed down. "Everything he says right now, it isnt him."

"He was right though. On some level I am trying to take care of him like I would have Aaron. Im using him as a replacement." She sniffed, listening to his heartbeat, using its steady rhythm to calm down.

"Then treat Merle like Merle. Don't let him push you around, he may be going through withdrawals but that doesn't mean he ain't a grown ass man. " Daryl patted her back one last time before he pulled away awkwardly.

"Okay." Eden nodded, brushing her tears off her face laughing at the wrinkled and wet state of Daryls shirt. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I.. look I'm no good with this talking shit but you know... if you need anything, I'm here." He nervously played with the hairs on the back of his neck, looking around the truck and at the group and noticing for the first time how long they had actually been standing there. "Getting late, looks like they have enough cars cleared so that we can drive a bit more. Best get back."

Eden made a split second decision; leaning up on her tip toes and using Daryls broad shoulders for support Eden placed a small kiss on his check. Her heart fluttered as the edge of his mouth met hers and she couldn't help but keep it there a moment longer than necessary. She knew she was blushing when she pulled away, instead of standing in what could be an awkward situation she turned around and made her way back to Merles truck. He had once told her he wanted her to stay, she was staying.

Climbing in the truck and scooting into the middle she ignored the look on Merles face.

"Didn't I tell you.."

"Oh, shut the fuck up Merle. What you said was shit, okay. I AM staying, so stop being a bitch and get over it." She yelled, her eyes only leaving Merles when Daryl finally made it to the car.

Daryl sat there as they drove, his mind running around in circles. Eden had kissed him, maybe not a proper kiss but all the same, she kissed him. Daryl battled with himself on what he should do; should he hold her hand? What if she doesn't like him like that, what if she only wanted to say thank you? Should he talk to her about it? Rejection would hurt and he didn't want to go through that embarrassment. Instead he sat there looking out the window as the group drove towards the CDC, until Edens head landed on his shoulder and her arms wrapped around his own.

Daryl tried to hid his smile in his hands and she cuddled against him, her soft snores feeling the truck cab.

"Cover her with the blanket." Merle growled out as he rubbed his nub against his sweaty forehead and rolled down the windows.

Daryl didn't argue. Reaching behind him he grabbed the thick blanket that was lodged between the seats and the back wall and laid it over her, making sure that every part was covered. He had to stop himself from smiling as she curled up tighter to him, using him as her own pillow. Instead he wrapped his large hand around her small one, intertwining their fingers. He couldn't stop the smile as her grip tightened and she pulled his arm closer to her until both of their hands rested on his knees and their sides were pressed tightly together. 

It had taken them two days after the fight between Merle and Eden for them to reach the CDC. It was a blow to everyone when they had found the parking lot empty of anything living. Rick had ran to each car, telling them to leave what they could and follow him. Weapons ready.

Daryl squeezed Eden's small fingers as he got out of the drivers side and made his way to Merle. Merle had gone down hill quickly, the withdrawals at their peak; he could no longer drive, he couldn't sleep, Eden was sure he was slowly loosing his mind.

Wrapping Merles giant arm around his shoulders he guided them quickly through the rising bodies, Eden using Merles hunting knife to end the ones who got to close though always staying within reaching distance of Daryl. It had become some unspoken rule between the two.

"Rick there aint no on here!" Shane yelled, pulling at Ricks arm trying to get his friend to see reason. If they stayed out here any longer they would all die.

"The camera! It moved!" Rick protested beating against the metal door pleading with who ever was inside to give them a chance, to let them live.

Eden almost cried when the huge doors opened, allowing the group to come in.

"I would advise you to bring what you can inside, once those door close they wont be opening again." A disembodied voice rang through the CDC lobby.

"You heard The Wizard of Oz." Shane ordered running out the doors and to the truck. Daryl sat Merle down on one of the couches, sending a pointed look to Eden then back to Merle, silently asking her to keep a watch on him, then he too was out the door.

It took less then ten minutes for the men to get what they could into the CDC before the doors closed. It was almost overwhelming how clean and white it was in there. Eden almost hyperventilated at the contrast, it was like the infection had never happened, for a split second she had forgot. 

"You okay?" Daryls deep drawl sounded in her eye, his whispered words sent a shiver down her spine. "Eden?"

"I.. yeah. It's just that this place, it's like nothing ever happened." Her throat felt dry as a pounding started in her temples. "It's kinda giving me a migraine." She joked,

"I know what you mean, lets not count our chickens before the hatch though." His hand rested heavy on the dip of her hip pulling her closer to his side as the rest of the group mingled around waiting for some kind of instruction.

Looking over at Merle, Eden started biting her lip. She hoped that he would be better soon, that his pain wouldn't last much longer. Closing her eyes she let Daryl be her strength.

"Is he going to be ok?" She whispered, keeping her eyes closed against the on coming migraine, its relentless pounding moving closer behind her eyes.

"Are you going to be ok?" Daryl asked in response to her question, worried about the pale look her skin was taking. "When was the last time you ate something? The last time you slept?"

"I sleep."

"You know what I mean. When was the last time you slept through the night without waking up every ten minutes to check on Merle?"

"I don't want him to choke on his vomit or something." She argued, wincing at the loud laughter from beside them.

"Aint that sweet. Worried about ol Merle." Merle coughed as he say up in the seat, looking at the close way his brother held the girl. "Told you, you don't need to worry about me."

"Is anyone infected?" The loud disembodied voice rang through the air once more, Eden let out an irritable sigh at the mans need to be so loud.

"One of us was, he's gone now." Rick was staring at the celling looking like he was hoping to see the man behind the voice.

"What about the one on the couch? Whats wrong with him?"

"HE'S going through a rough ass with drawl, and can hear you." Merle yelled, grumbling about being talked about like he wasn't even there.

Moments later a door at the end of the hall opened and out stepped an aging man and two guards, each holding a rifle.

"You'll submit to a blood test. " He spoke as he motioned for them to come inside the large elevator. The group squeezed in, bags pressed tightly to their sides. No one said anything, no one moved more than necessary not wanting to make the mistake that caused them to be thrown out into the world.

The blood test took about twenty minutes and uneventful other than the moment Andrea almost passed out. Jenner had introduced himself as he was working, telling them a little about himself and the two guards that stood by his side; David a tall, kind faced man with small arms and a warm smile and Richard everything about him put Eden in a state of unease. From the rough look on his face to the leering way he scanned each of the women. After Shanes rude remark about how few people they had seen, the group learned that these three men were all that was left.

After the blood test Jenner had showed the group to a hallway filled with doors, letting them choose their rooms and then giving them directions to the showers and the kitchen. Then letting the kids know about the rec room, warning them though not to turn on any of the games. The man then took Merle to the infirmary promising the worried Eden and the protesting Daryl that he would be ok.

"I think the man said something about hot water!" T dog whooped running down the hallway Glen hot on his tail.

"Im off to the kitchen anyone want to follow?" The bright smile on Carols face made Eden chuckle despite the almost over bearing headache. Lori, Jackie, Andrea and Amy were quick to agree, leaving Shane, Rick, Daryl and Eden alone in the hallway. Without speaking to the two officers Daryl led Eden to the room farthest down the brightly lit corridor.

"You want to get some rest before dinner?" Daryl asked hesitantly, things between him and Eden had become more complicated. Their touching had grown to the point were it was almost second nature, one of them was always reaching out for the other, always there to comfort.

"Check on Merle would you?" She asked as she laid on the double sized bed, moaning at the softness. " After you feel this bed. I never thought I would miss something so ordinary." Her smile hurt the sides of her face.

Daryl laughed as he walked over the other side, laying on his back beside her. He had to admit the bed was pretty amazing. Before he knew it his eyes we closed and he drifted off to sleep almost instantly.

Daryl woke an hour later with something warm wrapped around his body and pressed against his neck. Looking down he came nose to nose with Eden, her face planted firmly in his neck, her arm slung across his chest as her leg was hooked over his waist. Her warm breath fanned across his face. Pressing his face closer to her own he couldn't help but run his nose against her own, his heart fluttering at the softness of her skin. Softly he pressed his lips to hers, surprised when he felt hers press back against his. Daryls eyes flew open as her fingers tangled themselves in his hair pressing him closer to her. Daryl laid there frozen, he hadn't expected her to be awake, hadn't expected to be kissing her. Daryl knew he had stayed still much to long when Eden pulled away, her face inflamed, hurt and embarrassment clouding her eyes.

"Sorry." Eden mumbled as she threw herself out of the bed and headed out the door, "I thought.. never mind."

"Fuck!" Daryl yelled into his arm. He had fucked up, he wanted her. He wanted all of her; her asshole comments, the way she cared for his fucked up brother, the sheer determination in her eyes when she was on watch, to the way would scream when a bug flew towards her but would face a walker head on. He want her and he had fucked up. 

**Hey everyone! Some goodish news: I GOT A JOB :D. I am now a member of the Subway crew. Hopefully I will start liking my job and can somehow get better at it. I would like to thank everyone for reading and their patience with me. Reviews are welcome! **


	10. Chapter Ten

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

-Chapter Ten-

Eden couldn't believe how stupid she was! She had woken up with Daryls face pressed against hers, thinking that he wanted the same thing she did, acting on instinct she had kissed him. She had kissed him and had fucked up. For a second there she was in heaven, Daryl was everything she had wanted before the world ended. He was a good man, a strong man, someone who would protect the people he cared for but wouldn't mind if she was just as strong. He was smart and funny, quiet when it counted. She had fallen so hard for him in the past week or so that his rejection had hit her harder than she would have thought.

Daryl and Eden had been getting closer, they would talk for hours, laugh till they couldn't breath, hell they were always touching. Sometimes she would even catch Daryl watching her out of the corner of her eye, studying her with his intense fascination and when she would turn to look at him, he'd either walk away for look someplace else. She had even tried flirting with him these last two days, hoping he would get the hint, taking It upon herself to hold his hand when ever she could; making sure that the group couldn't see, Daryl had told her about his need for privacy.

_'Aaron, I think I fucked up baby brother.' _ Eden stopped in front of the kitchen, she had talked to Aaron. Not like he was here beside her, but like he was watching her, guiding her and it felt right. _'Thank you bubby.' _ Eden smiled despite her inner turmoil.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. " Amy's over joyed voice brought Eden out of her misery. The tall blond grabbed her arm almost dragging her in the bright kitchen. "Looks like that little power nap did you some good. You don't look half dead anymore." She joked bumping shoulders with her.

"Are you hungry honey?" Eden couldn't help but blush when her stomach answered for her, Carol only giving her an understanding smile as she served her a bowl of Mac and Cheese and guided her over to the table.

"Has anyone else ate yet?" Eden asked as she shoveled the delicious concoction into her mouth. Surprisingly, Lori let out a loud laugh. Eden and Lori never have seen eye to eye, and at most were civil. Never though had she laughed at one of Eden's MANY jokes and she didn't think that she had made one even now. "I don't understand what did I say?" Eden tried to ask through her over stuffed cheeks.

"Nothing! Im sorry, you just remind me of Carl, Macaroni and Cheese was always his favorite." Lori sobered up as she went back to washing dishes. "I don't know how those men ever ate, I swear ever dang thing is dirty. "She grumbled in her usually grumpy tone.

"We were just waiting for You, Rick, Daryl and Dale. When you're finished why don't you take this on to Merle, second door on the right." Carol placed a yellow plastic bowl in front of her, almost protesting when the small woman put the rest of her food into Merles bowl. 

"At least ya'll know where you belong." Richard barked out a laugh as he made his way into the kitchen and leaned against the wall closest to Carol. Eden instinctively moved between the two hoping to keep the sleazy mans eyes away from the timid woman. Placing her hand on Carols shoulder she guided her over to Jackie, the quiet woman went without protest.

"What can we do for you?" Lori asked, Eden had great respect in the woman's icy attitude in that moment.

"Just thought I had seen something good come in here not to long ago." Richards prying eyes traveled over each of the women, winking at Amy who moved behind her sister and resting on Eden.

Eden couldn't help but thank god that T-dog took that moment to walk in. On the outside he was a very intimidating man, the inside though was a big ball of mush. Eden scoffed when Richards back went straight and he glared at the bulking man.

"What?" T-dogs naturally loud voice sent Richard out the door. "What?" He asked again looking at the group of women who started laughing like mad people.

"Jus glad to have one scury lukin brotha round hur." Eden mimicked her best thug accent, sending everyone into another fit of giggles. "Anyways, best get this to Merle before he starts bitching." Eden sent a reassuring (she hoped) nod to Carol and almost ran to the infirmary.

"I don't think it's healthy; their relationship." Andrea sneered, going back to chopping the potatoes for dinner.

-

Eden jumped around the curtain to Merles bed as she held up the bowl of food.

"You're about to love me more than a sexy nun my nubby friend." Eden grinned handing the bowl over to Merle with a laugh. Turning around to find the 'quest' chair she noticed Daryl for the first time. His blue eyes bored into her green ones, making her knees feel weak. Quickly she turned her head and sat at the foot of Merles bed. Watching him inhale his food was more than entertaining.

"Eden I.." Quickly she cut Daryl off, not wanting him to reject her again in front of Merle.

"When you going to get out of here?" She asked the aged man, laughing as a piece of noodle got stuck to his chin.

"Going through withdrawals not the fucking flu." Was his reply as he looked between her and his brother. "Doc gots me on some fluids and miner pain killers." Merle chuckled at the worried scrunched up look she got on her face. "Its more like Advil or some shit. Not going to relapse."

"You even eat all your food?" Merle asks her after a second. "Your pants are almost falling off, didn't take you for one of those people who liked their pants baggy Half-breed."

"I ate enough." Eden protested slapping his leg. Knowing he was about to fuss at her for not eating more she tried to find a way to distract him, so she told him about Richard and his creeping ways. How he liked to make all the women uncomfortable, and how she couldn't help but laugh at him when he pretty much ran away from T-dog. Leaving out the part about him following her into the kitchen.

"I want you to stay clear from him. I knew men like that in the Army and they ain't one to take kindly to being laughed at by a women. Stay with someone at all times, preferably Daryl or myself. Hell I'll even be happy with Rick if it keeps him away from you. " Merles warning brought ice down Eden's back. Had she made things worse for herself?

"Ill just hang all over T-dog, maybe once racial stereotypes would come in my favor." Eden joked half heartedly. Choosing to ignore Daryl's comment about T-dog not protecting his shit. She didn't really understand the comment and didn't want to open another can of worms that just ended up in disappointment. Taking Merles bowl she got up and left, not looking back at the beautiful man that confused her heart.

-

"You're a little shit you know that right?" Merle asked his younger brother once he heard the door close behind Eden. Daryl didn't reply, only grinded his teeth and look at his boots causing Merle to throw his pillow at the man. " Why don't you get that shit outa your ass and fuck her already? You trying to run her into someone else's bed? Hmm? Ricks taken, but im sure T-dog wouldn't mind. Hell, even Glen wouldn't say no if she wanted to roll around." Honestly Merle would be damned if he let Eden try to get in bed with anyone other than his brother. In Merles eyes there wasn't two people in this world more meant for each other than them. He had watched his little brother come out of his shell since Eden had threw herself into their life.

"Though Shane wouldn't wait one second to fuck her right if given the chance." Merle watched with satisfaction as Daryls face turned blood red.

"Aint one of them fuckers touching her! I aint just wanting to fuck her and be done with it Merle!" Daryl growled throwing Merles pillow back at him.

"Good. Far as I'm concerned she's already a Dixon. Hell acts like us more than anyone else I've ever met. So what the hell are you doing pussy footing around?"

Daryl didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say. Merle was right, Eden was a Dixon in every way but name. She was 100% meant to be one of them and yet here he was, head over heels for the woman and not doing a damned thing about it. If she wanted to be with someone else then he wouldn't be able to stop her, he WOULDN'T force her into loving him.

"You gonna sit there all day? I wanna get some sleep." Daryl left as Merle rolled over. He was gonna find Eden and he was gonna... _'Hell I don't know what I'm gonna do'_

Walking into the kitchen Daryl had seen something he didn't think he would ever see again a stove; an actual working stove right next to an actual working refrigerator.

"Got me too when I walked in." Ricked laughed patting Daryl on the shoulder as he passed, taking a seat at the table beside Dale. The old man looked over joyed at the card game he was playing with Carol.

"Here you go Daryl, why don't you go and sit down at the table. We are just about to start making dinner." Jackie said, handing him a large bowl filled to the top with food. Jackie laughed when Daryl stared at the bowl, making the larger man become defensive, scowling at the black woman and snatching the bowl away.

Daryl was more than thankful at the large helping of food, though he had to force himself not to shovel it down his throat. He hadn't thought he would get to eat macaroni again, hell he didn't think he would be able to take an actual hot shower. He couldn't wait to jump in it, he just had to make sure that he would be alone, he didn't want anyone just walking in on him. Taking the last bite he went to wash out his bowl, only for it to get taken by Amy.

"Never thought I would see the day when you actually enjoyed cleaning." Andrea laughed, as she finished up cutting the potatoes. Daryl ignored the rest of their sibling banter after that, opting to go back to the table and talk to Rick, something had been bugging him about this place and he wanted to make sure his thoughts were heard.

"Whats the plan boss?" Daryl asked taking a seat once more and fiddled with a lone fork.

"Well, right now im just hoping that we can stay here for a while. I don't want to bring anything up with the doc until tomorrow. I think everyone deserves at least one good peaceful nights sleep. I know I could use it." The dark haired man chuckled shacking his head. "I don't want to throw all kinds of questions at him before we even get the chance to relax."

"Aint you at all worried about the lack of people?" Daryl asked. It was the first thing he had noticed, he knew from the news and from online that buildings like this would have had hundreds of employees, yet there were only three. "There might just be walkers just lying around behind one of these doors."

"I don't think that's the case. They don't even carry their weapons, maybe everyone just left... went with there families." Rick tried to defend, even though he himself had been feeling a little bit weary of the same thing. "I want everyone to carry though, have something on them at all times. Just incase." He added after a moment. Daryl just nodded, knowing that he wouldn't get anything else out of Rick in the lines of talking to the mysterious doctor tonight.

"Im going to look around anyways, don't want anyone getting caught off guard." Daryl offered, though he was going to do it even if Rick didn't agree.

"Thanks." Rick nodded patting Daryl on the back before standing up and telling Lori he was going to go look for Carl. Daryl sat back and took a deep breath, wincing at his own smell, taking a look around he seen that everyone else had taken a shower and had gotten into clean clothes.

"You seen Eden?" Daryl asked making his way over to the young blond at the sink.

"Uh, yeah. Said something about a shower. OH! Could you let her know that Carol said to just bring all her dirty clothes to her room tonight, she found a washer and dryer and wanted to get everyone's done before bed."

Daryl didn't bother saying anything else, just walked back to his room to see if Eden was done with her shower and to grab his last pair of clean.. well cleanest, pants and a new shirt before he made his way to the showers.

-  
>Eden felt like one of the women of those <em>G<em>_arnier Fructis _commercials. The shower was absolutely amazing, as soon as the hot water had hit her body she couldn't help but let out the most ecstatic moan of her life.

Eden had raided the lockers in the shower room before stepping into the glorious water. She had found: a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner, a brand new razor, a pair of sweats (though over sized) and a bottle of lotion. Eden even did a little dance while the steaming water was burning into her skin, she didn't care how hot it was though; because of the fact that it was HOT water. Eden was so happy she started to sing, which made her ever happier because of the long time she had been going without any type of music.

Eden was mesmerized and a bit disgusted at the amount of dirt, blood and pieces of twigs that swirled around the drain turning to water a thick brown color, it took nearly a full thirty minutes for the water to run clear again without the occasional shot of color.

It was while she was shaving her legs that Eden had the strangest sensation of being watched. She could almost feel someone's eyes crawling across her skin, causing goose bumps to form on her heated body. Chalking it up to being paranoid cause of the Walker life she now lived, Eden went back to washing, taking as much time as she could to fully wash her hair. Now she really felt like she was on a commercial. Her smile dropped though when she heard something hit the floor somewhere in the distance, a lone bottle rolling into the shower stall.

"Who's there?" Eden called turning off the water, and reaching out for her towel she had place on the hook at the edge of the stall, quickly wrapping it around herself. It was suddenly cold in the dimly lit shower room, the steam from her shower giving space an erry look.

"Amy if that's you I swear I'm going to beat the tar off you." Eden yelled, looking through her clothes for her knife, her accent coming out full force. No one answered, Eden strained her ears to hear anything, forcing herself to find her knife. It wasn't there.

"Seriously, who's there?" Eden called, hating how her voice cracked, she didn't know if she actually heard someone breathing quietly or if her mind was playing tricks on her. Either way, she quickly grabbed her clothes and ran out of the door, running right into Daryl causing her to let out a high pitched, though very short, scream.

"Whoa there." Daryl hushed, holding Eden upright, "What was that all about?" He couldn't help but notice the flush of her cheeks or the wide look in her eyes. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, im just so use to Walkers I guess you just scared me." Eden didn't want to let him know how irrational she had been. Being outside the shower room she felt like she had over reacted a bit. "Still kind of on edge." She chuckled lightly before remembering the utter disaster that had happened between them this morning and moving away.

"Im sorry." Daryl said, pulling her closer once again. "You know, about this morning."

"No, im sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. I know I made everything awkward, you don't have to worry though, im not going to get all ass hurt about it." When in all actuality Eden's chest started to ache with the effort to keep from being 'ass hurt' about the whole ordeal. "I should have known better, I mean... well damn Daryl you could be with anyone." She laughed wringing the edge of the clothes in her hands. "Im gonna get my clothes and see if I can find another room or something."

"I wanted to." He blurted as she was walking away, he chose to ignore her '..he could have anyone..' comment. "Kiss you that is. I just, I thought you were asleep." He blushed, hating the fact that he did. He started to feel nervous at her silence. "I mean, I like you. I REALLY like you, you were just laying there, and I had wanted to kiss you for so long and you had wrapped yourself around me. It was hard to think, you sometimes are so sexy and yet, at the same time so damned gorgeous. I want to kiss you and fucking hold you and do all that sappy shit. Then you kissed me back and I couldn't breathe, I froze." Daryl hurried out, trying to explain himself.

"Why don't you?" Was all she said, as she bit her lip looking at his mouth.

"What?" He couldn't believe how stupid he sounded, but right now he couldn't think of anything to say. He just noticed her current state of.. undress. He was amazed at how long her hair really was, the tips of it brushing against her elbows, how little drops of water made their way down her nearly exposed chest then disappeared under her towel.

"Kiss.." He didn't wait for her to finish, as he took the two long strides to close the distance. With his hands wrapped in her soaking hair he brought her mouth to his crushing her hands between them. Her mouth on his felt beyond amazing, he couldn't help but groan as her tongue pasted across his lips. Quickly he dominated her mouth, taking full command of the kiss and backing her against the wall. He pressed himself as close to her as he could, frustrated that he couldn't get close enough. The throaty moan that passed her lips as he lightly bit her plump bottom lip went straight through him.

Finally after what seemed like forever they pulled apart, his forehead pressed against hers. He couldn't help the swell of pride that exploded in his chest as he watched Eden stand there, eyes still closed, a large smile on her face.

"I should.. uh, get dressed before everyone see's my lady junk." Eden breathed out, her eyes hooded, knees trembling. That had been the most... erotic kiss of her entire life.

"Yeah, would want Glen to get a nose bleed or whatever the Chinese get." Daryl joked stepping away.

"Korean." Eden's voice was low and husky as she corrected him with a smile and made her way down the hall.

"Wait, uh, you're still staying in the room right." Daryl asked, sighing at her nod. "Good. Oh, and Carol wants your dirt clothes. You would think the woman got off on cleaning or something."

"Right though? Ill take 'em to her, get yours too."

Daryl watched her till she rounded the corner then made his way into the shower room. _'It's dark as fuck in here.' _ After Daryl got into the shower and started soaping up did he think he heard the door open and close. Though when he looked out his stall he couldn't see anyone. Shrugging his shoulders he went back to his amazing shower and thinking of _his_ amazing woman.

**OK! Here is the new chapter as promised, I hope there isnt to many mistakes. A little update on how are story is going : Views- 1,512 (holy fuck ya'll) Reviews- 25 (thanks) Favorites- 32 (aw, guys 3) and Alerts-61 (hell yeah mother fuckers). As always review, if you do (and its more than just a couple lines) Ill give you an early preview of the next chapter. ;) **


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**IN HONOR OF THE NEW SEASON PREMEIRE HERE IS AN EXTRA LONG CHAPTER. Happy Birthday Walking Dead!**  
><strong>WARNING LEMONS! <strong>

Chapter Eleven 3

Dinner that night was by far the happiest moment anyone had had in a long time. Even Merle, who wasn't yet over his withdrawals, was having a great time; only getting a little hissy when Jenner informed him he wouldn't be able to drink any of the Fire Whiskey. Instead, every time Eden's glass got half way empty he was there filling it up, much to Glenn's worry Daryl was doing the same to the young Asian.

"I wanna see how red your face can get Chinaman." Daryl laughed when Glenn tried to refuse another drink, shaking his head at the quiet 'Im Korean' he received.

Eden looked around the table at everyone's happy face, everyone but Richard. Merle had dampened his mood quite a bit at the beginning of dinner when the soldier planted his ass in the seat between Eden and Amy. Merles heavy hand had hit hard against Richards shoulder, jarring the younger man.

"I think you got the wrong place." Merle growled quietly in the mans ear, his face so close to Richards Eden could see his lips brush the mans ear. This was an old part of Merle. Eden could almost see the same wall she had passed through their first day together. "Best move boy."

Richard hadn't said anything, he simply got up and walked away, shooting a sharp look back at Eden when she gave a single snort.

Eden smiled, and grabbed Merles nub under the table, laughing at Merles playful wink. Reaching over to get her drink, Eden almost lost her shit.

"This food has to be the most amazing thing I have ever eaten in my life. Thank you." Merles loud voice called over the joyous noise, it stopped almost instantly.

"You're welcome Merle." Carol said, always the one to be the first to speak when it came to the change in Merle. Eden's good mood brightened all the more.

"Here here!" Rick shouted raising his glass, a choirs of agreement followed behind. Daryl grabbed Eden's hand under the table, giving it a loose squeeze.

"I aint ever seen Merle so... calm." Daryl whispered, taking another large drink of his whiskey. Eden smiled.

"I like seeing him like this." Eden replied. She really did like they way Merles face was stretched into a smile as he carried on a conversation with Amy and David.

Everyone was having a great time, talking and laughing with each other. Eden even had a pretty decent conversations with Shane before he be decided to be a dick.

"So, you gonna tell us what's going on here Doc?" Shane asked, bursting the happy bubble.

"Buzz kill." Glen accused with a drunken slur, causing Carol, of all people, to give out an unlady like grunt.

" I was hoping to wait until tomorrow to go over everything. Let everyone settle in for the night, relax. God only knows what you all have been against out there. A good nights sleep would do you all good." Jenner said, taking another drink of his water. Shane didn't really seem to happy with that answer and when he tried to pry further he was met with Jenner's iron clad resistance.

Rick had taken a moment to thank Jenner, which everyone joined in on. They really were grateful.

Eden nudged Daryl's arm, tilting her head over the giggling Amy. Amy it seemed had take a liking to David, Richards partner.

"That's my boy." Lori laughed, kissing Carl on the head. "Now, I think its time for us to get to bed."

"I agree. It's been a long time since any of us have been in a proper bed, heck this is the first time someone doesn't have to be on watch." Carol herded the kids out of the room, leaving with a small wave.

It didn't take long before everyone was up and leaving, each saying there own goodnight. By this time, Rick and T-dog was helping a giggling Glenn to his room.

"Merle, want help?" Eden slurred, reaching up to the already standing man.

"I think you are the one that needs help." Merle laughed, reaching to help her up only to have his hand slapped away.

"Lies, I got myself." Eden denied stumbling from her chair and into Daryl. "Well hello sexy." She purred tip toeing her fingers up his chest. Merles booming laughter caused Daryl to blush even deeper.

"I'll leave you too at it then." Merle patted his brother on the back, wishing him luck. "By the looks of it, you have everything under control."

"Have I ever told you how blue your eyes are?" Eden asked wrapping her arms around his neck. "Cause you know, they are."

"Are you flirting with me?" Daryl asked, suppressing a laugh.

"Yeah, well I've never been very good at it." She admitted with a shrug. "You like it though." Trying to walk away, she only ending up falling over a chair.

"Ok, someone has had way to much to drink." Eden was quickly lifted in the air, tucked securely in Daryls arms. " Don't go making a habit out of me carrying you. Two times are enough."

"What ever." Eden grumbled, burring her face into his neck. "You smell like Irish Spring."

"Showered."

Eden's head laid against Daryl's shoulder, her face burying herself in his neck. "You feel safe." Eden sighed breathing in his sent. Wrapping her arms fully around his neck, pulling him closer to her body.

"You're drunk." Daryl commented, though her confession had left a spark of warmth in his stomach. He liked that she felt safe in his arms, that's what he wanted. Holding her a little tighter to his chest, he made his way into their room, managing to open and close the door behind him without letting her go.

"Daryl..." Eden started as he placed her on the bed and helped her out of her boots. Daryl perked his eyebrow at her, watching the hesitation play on her face.

"What's going on?" He asked sitting beside her on the bed, taking his time with his own shoes.

"We don't have a lot of time and I want to.. you know, but I don't want you to think im easy, or that I just jump into just any bodies bed." Eden mumbled wringing her fingers together before placing on over his heart. "It's just.. We don't know how long we will be here, you know, safe and well... I want to experience every moment with you. We don't know when one of us will... not be here anymore. "

At first Daryl didn't say anything, he was trying to process what Eden was saying. He knew what she meant, their time was truly limited, that no matter how safe they felt right now once they left anything could happen. He knew it was dangerous to feel something for someone when they could be taken away from you at any moment, ripped from your hands. Still, everything in him wanted Eden, he wanted the little time they may have together.

"I don't think you're easy Eden but I ain't about to have sex with you." He replied, gently taking her hand off his chest, his other hand lightly gripped her chin, running his thumb over her bottom lip trying to ease the look of rejection off her face. "You're drunk. I aint about to take advantage of you like that. No matter how much you say or look like you want it."

Eden bit her lip and in turn Daryl's thumb, the look of rejection slowly faded off her face, her eyes burning into his.

"Are you sure you don't want me?" Eden asked, keeping his thumb between her teeth lightly sucking.

Daryl slid closer, his fingers of his free hand dancing along the edge of her shirt tracing the smooth skin underneath. His mouth found the crook of her neck and smiled at the goose bumps he left on her skin.

"You have no idea how much I want you." Daryl ran his tongue from the base of her neck to the tip of her ear. " Do you know how much I want to taste you Eden? To run my mouth along your skin, to lick.. every.. part of you." Daryl removed his thumb from her mouth over her abd ran his hands up her thighs, bringing her to sit on his lap. Thrusting his already hard erection into her. "Do you feel that baby? Do you feel me? Can you feel the way I want you, how hard you make me?" His hands gripped Edens hips and ground her against himself, loving the hiss that escaped her lips.

Edens hands gripped Daryls hair as she moved against him trying to find some release, growling when Daryls strong hands stopped her movements.

"No baby." He growled against her neck. "When we finally have sex I want you sober. I want you to _feel _ everything I do to you. I want the feeling so intense that you cant help but to scream my name, I want your throat to be so sore afterwards that you wont be able to speak." He gripped her hips tighter when she whimpered, trying desperately to move against him. "For now though, its time for bed."

"You're such a tease." Eden accused, moving off his lap and under the covers and shimming out of her sweat pants. "Turn off the light." She said as she threw her pants at his head.

Daryl laughed as he stood up. Adjusting himself he went crossed the room and turned off the light. Looking back at the lump under the covers and sighed.

_'This is going to be a long night.' _ He thought as he crawled into bed beside her.

"Are you forgetting something?" Eden asked, looking behind her.

"Not that im aware." Daryl went through everything in his mind.

"Yes, yes you did." Eden grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her waist and scooted back against his chest, making sure too keep their hips apart.

"Daryl?" Eden asked after a moment, sleep already pulling her eyes shut.

"Yeah?" Daryl smiled at the obvious way she was trying to fight the inevitable.

"I like it when you call me baby." She said wrapping her fingers through his. "Do it more?"

"Go to sleep now ok." Daryl kissed the back of her head

"Goodnight Daryl."

"Night baby."

_-_

Daryl wasn't at all a heavy sleeper, so when he felt Eden shift beside him he was almost instantly awake. With his eyes closed he couldn't see what she was doing, but he heard her giving herself a bit of a pep talk. Next thing he knew he could feel her straddling him, her fingers running under his shirt and to his chest.

"Daryl." She whispered against his lips. "Wake up." Her hips were moving in the most delicious circles against his own. "It morning." Her mouth started moving its way across his chin and down the side of his neck.

Daryl couldn't fake sleep any longer, the slow movements of her hips were already making him hard along with the fact that last night he didn't get any form of release, though he couldn't find it in himself to regret his decision.

"What are you doing?" He his eyes still closed. Eden's hands and mouth left his body for a moment, her hips rotating a different angle.

"You're about to make good on your promise." Eden told him as she guided his hands to her body, the naked skin Daryl felt had his eyes snapping open.

In all her god given glory Eden sat on top of him, her shirt and bra had been thrown across the room along with her over large sweat pants from the night before, leaving her in the thinnest pair of panties Daryl had ever seen. He would never be able to tell you what brand they were or what style they were in, he just didn't know shit like that. All he knew is he could damn near see through them and watching her grind against him in barely nothing on had made him hard as hell. 

"Well, looks like he's finally awake." Eden smiled biting her lip at the new feeling.

Daryl had sat up and had his mouth connected with hers in a instant. His hands roaming freely against her warm skin. Her hips were soft and round beneath his hands as he squeezed them for more leverage to thrust against her. 

"To many clothes Mr. Dixon." Eden panted, gripping both of his shirts and pulling them over his head, his mouth only leaving the spot he had claimed on her neck for a second. Eden let out a moan as their bare chests connected, rubbing against one another.

"Pants Daryl." She shuttered as his mouth found its way to her chest taking one of her nipples between his teeth. Daryl wasn't sure what he liked most about her right now, the way her voice had taken on a raspy tone, the way her round hips moved against his or the way her breast fit so well in his hands.

He couldn't help but smile when her shaking hands fumbled with the clasp of his belt between them. Her head falling back as he slipped his own hand between their bodies and down her red panties letting out a shuttering moan.

"Hey Eden do you have any Advil or something." Glenn's voice whined from the opening door. "OH! Oh god! Im so sorry!" He yelled clamping his hands over his eyes. Daryl was quick to throw Eden on the bed and toss the covers over her, just because Glenn had covered his eyes didn't mean he might not peak.

"You cock blocking bitch." Eden hissed at the young man as he turned an even deeper shade of red. Daryl was across the small space in a few long strides his hand clamping hard on the back of Glenn's neck.

"I didn't see nothing I swear! I mean I seen her back.. and... and a bit of side boob. I also heard her... Oh god please don't kill me!" Daryl steered the fumbling man out of the room and out the door. Daryl later would think he had pushed the boy a little to hard, but now he was barley holding back his anger. He wanted to beat the shit out of him for not knocking, for interrupting something so personal. Instead he shut the door and banged his fist against the cool metal, the complete opposite of the feel of Eden's skin.

Daryl felt Edens fingers touch the scars on his back, he instantly tensed. He had wanted to wait to show her them, wanted to live in the happiness that came with being with her a little bit longer. He hadn't wanted her to find him so disgusting so soon. He was shocked when she started kissing them, her fingers tenderly tracing each one.

"Is he dead." Her voice sounded strained as she leaned her forehead against his back.

"Who?" Daryl asked, he knew who she was talking about.

"You're fucking father, the piece of shit... the shit who..." She had cut herself off with a sob and her arms wrapping around his stomach as she hugged his back to her bare chest. Her hot leaving wet trails down his skin.

"If he aint dead, I swear to god ill go back and kill him. You were so little, so little." Daryl could hear her full blown crying now, could feel the sloppy wet kisses she was pressing against his back moving along the scattered scars on his side to the faint one or two on his chest.

"You deserve so much more Daryl. So much more." Daryl was captivated by her eyes, the deep pulls of color, the feeling and truth behind them. Daryl didn't quite know what to feel about her crying over him, didn't yet know what to think about her strong reaction to his horror. All he knew was that in that moment he needed her more than he'd ever needed anyone.

Daryls mouth crashed against Eden's, his body pushing her against the door, trapping her in place.

"I want you." He muttered against her lips before claiming them once again. Her hands went instantly to his belt, quickly making work of the buckle and unbuttoning his pants. With a quick jerk she had them down his thighs and around his ankles. Daryl wasted no time in lifting her up and wrapping her legs around his waist, his hips bucking into her on their own command.

"Damn it!" He growled at the barrier between them. "I hope you aint to fond of these baby." In seconds he had ripped the accusing thing off her and throwing it some place forgotten in the room. His mouth collided with hers as he ground himself against her wet center, swallowing her moans.

"This aint gonna be easy or gentle girl. Im sorry, ill make it up to you I swear it." He promised against her mouth as he lined himself up, the tip of his erection had barley made it in when Eden bucked against him pulling him in.

"Oh fuck!" She screamed her head banging against the door, Daryl quickly put his hand back there, not wanting her to knock herself out.

Pulling out again he took one of Edens legs and hooked her ankle on his shoulder, using her thigh for more support he pushed himself slowly into her, feeling every inch as he filled her so completely.

"God baby, you feel so fucking good." He growled in her ear her moans almost instantly coming out louder. "You like it when I talk to you?" He asked as he started pumping in and out.

"No nodding baby, im gonna stop if you don't use your words." Daryl started sucking on the side of her neck, attempting to hide his own moans, wanting to drown in her ragged breaths and shaking moans.

"Yes. Oh god yes. Just fucking..." Eden cried incoherently her hips bucking against his trying to match his erratic rhythm.

"You want me to fuck this pretty little pussy, hmm? Want me to make you cum?" Daryl was pounding into her at this point, the force of his hips knocking Edens painfully into the door.

"Daryl.. please. Don't stop, whatever you do, don't fucking stop!" She screamed her nails digging into the skin of his back, as she tried to hold on.

"Say it again baby. Say my name!" He moaned into her chest, his hips thrusting harder and harder into her, bring her closer to the edge.

"DARYL!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, one of her hands tangled itself in her hair pulling at the roots as the other one gripped his neck.

"Whos pussy is this?"

"Yours."

"I cant fucking hear you baby." He growled.

"I swear to god Daryls its yours. Oh fuck! Only yours."She cried her body shaking. "Im gonna cum!" She was screaming her hand leaving her hair and trailing across her body.

"That's right baby, let go. I want you to cum with me." Daryls calloused thumb rubbed harsh circles against Edens hardened numb, her body jerking as she screamed his name. Edens walls clenched against Daryl causing his own orgasm to crash through him, blinding him to the point that the only thing he knew was Eden. Daryl hadn't even known he had bit her till he came down. Eden's body still shaking in his arms; her hair messy and sticking up at random places, her eyes closed, the pink tint to her cheeks, her mouth hanging slightly open. Daryl had never seen anything as beautiful in his whole life.

"You're a god Daryl Dixon." She whispered after a moment her eyes still closed a large smile stretched over her face. Daryl noticed the obvious rasp to her voice, pride flamed in his chest.

Eden hissed as he pulled out of her, and set her feet on the ground; her legs giving out almost instantly. Daryls arms were there to catch her and help her make her way to the bed. Evidence of their... passion dripping from her and onto the floor.

"Let me go and get you a towel or something." Daryl kissed her quickly as he buttoned his pants and grabbed his wife beater off the floor and made his way out of the room. Eden laid there in absolute bliss until he got back, taking a mental note of all the pleasurable aches that radiated from her body. She knew she would have more than one bruise.

"Here." His voice cut through her musing as he raised her leg up and started wiping her thighs clean making his way to her sore and pulsing center.

"I can do that." She rasped in embarrassment.

"Aint no need in getting shy now, ive already been inside here. Might as well clean up afterwards."

"Well, aint you the romantic." Eden grumbled throwing her arm over her face as Daryl started cleaning out her most private of areas.

"You know what I mean." He laughed as he kissed the apex of her thigh when he was done, causing a delicious shiver to run up Eden's spine.

Eden sat up slowly, her lower back was starting to hurt from the pounding it took against the door. She smiled lazily at the man in front of her, her heart filling up with emotion.

"Come here." Her broken voice called as she reached for his hand, bringing him closer so she could kiss him; she loved his lips. "We better get going before I get all mushy on you."She croaked out a laugh when they were done. Standing on shaky legs she went over to her bag and grabbed her last pair of underwear and slipped them on along with her discarded bra.

"You keep getting dressed like that and we aint leaving this room." Daryl hissed coming up behind her and running his hands up between her thighs, laughing as Eden elbowed him in the side.

"I don't know about you but im starving and im pretty sure we already missed breakfast." Edens voice was almost completely gone, Daryl hadnt been lying when he said he was gonna make her loose it.

It took a little longer than usual for her to get dressed, mostly because Daryl couldn't keep his hands to his self and once he seen the bruises on her body his touches became less sexual and more out of concern. She had to tell him more than once that she was ok and that they only hurt a little bit. It was true at least for all of them except the ones on her neck. It seemed that Daryl had a thing for marking her, at least that's what she got from the four hickies and the stinging bite mark he left for everyone to see.

When they finally make it to the kitchen Eden was fully dressed in a pair of tight blue jeans and one of Daryls sleeveless plaid shirts and had finally tamed the raging sex hair into a braid. Daryl on the other hand looked like he had just gotten thoroughly fucked with his insane sex hair and dishevel clothes. When Eden asked if he was gonna straighten up a bit all he had to say was 'Fuck em' and headed straight out the door.

"Well, well, well." Merle hooted from his seat at the table, everyone's voices instantly quieted making the couple feel even more uneasy.

"Ya'll done missed breakfast." Merle laughed at Edens pout as she threw herself in the seat beside him, wincing a bit as her back hit the chair. "Good thing Ol Merle here has taken a liking to you Half-Breed. Sugar tits over there was about leave ya'll out."

"Sugar tits?" Eden rasped looking confused, causing Merle to laugh even harder.

"Sorry.. I couldn't hear you. Why don't you speak up?"

"Fuck off Merle." Daryl growled as Eden face flushed even more her body sinking further under the table.

"Im sorry Half-breed. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Merle apologized with a smile handing her one of the two plates. Eden looked up at him skeptically noticing the large amount of food stacked on her plate.

"Don't go giving me that look. You've been giving me half your food for weeks now, im just returning the favor." Merle knocked his shoulder into her own as she smiled up at him. Shaking his head as she got up from the table to get another plate only to return and scoop the eggs off her own and hand it to the older man.

"Im allergic to eggs." She shrugged as she dug into her bacon smiling up at Daryl as he placed his bacon on her plate without a word.

"Could you pass the pepper." Merle asked her, silently grateful as she shook the pepper around his eggs herself.

"Ok! That's it. You know he can do that for himself right? He doesn't need you babying him, you arent his slave." Andrea hissed looking at Eden and Merle in obvious disgust.

"Are you right or left handed?" Eden asked Andrea her face the picture of boredom.

"Right." Andrea scoffed. "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"So is Merle." Eden growled out, her throat hurting a bit at the use. "He is having to learn everything over again with his other hand. I was and am trying to make him feel normal and as comfortable as I can while he is eating with everyone. If you continue being a bitch 'Sugar Tits' im sure I can find a kennel to stuff your large ass into!"

Andrea shot out of her chair, her face red. "You little slut, you cant talk to me like that! You don't even belong in this group, if you weren't fucking the Dixons you would already be out of here!"

Eden felt Daryl tense beside her, his left hand gripping her thigh under the table keeping her in her seat. Daryl was about to say something, chew the woman out when Ricks voice cut across the tension.

"Andrea! Sit down, Eden has been a productive member of this group since she got here. Not once has she complained about the long watches or the lack of food. She has never gone out of her way to put any of us in danger. If you don't sit down and shut up you can leave and someone will tell you the rest of what Jenner was saying. "

"Right. As I was saying.." Jenner coughed from the corner attempting to cut out the obvious tension. "When the infection hit everyone was panicked, some of them went home trying to find their families in hopes to bring them back here so they could be safe. Others stayed here, choosing to opt out, not strong enough to face what was happening. That's why the stairwells are blocked off and why we don't go to the lobby. We didn't know you had to be shot in the head. Most of them OD'd coming back within hours sometimes moments, others hung themselves. Those who decided to stay and live... well they got caught by the dead.

"That was when we shut ourselves down here, closing off the stairs and the unneeded wings. We didn't want to take any risks. We have been down here ever since." Eden was shocked, she hadnt expected that to happen at all. The thought of mass suicide never crossed her mind.

"What about the other countries, did they get hit too?" Carol asked hugging Sophia to her side.

"The virus struck everywhere. France was the last place we had heard from. They weren't any closer to finding a cure than we were."

"Wait you said..."

All of a sudden a crash came from down the hall causing the group to jump nearly out of their chairs. Daryl and Rick were the first ones out of the doors acting on instinct closely followed by Shane, T-dog, David and Merle.

"Stay here!" Merle shouted over his shoulder with a pointed look at Eden.

"Where's Carl?" Lori asked franticly looking at everyone expectantly almost accusing all of them for loosing him.

Eden ignored Lori's searching, if Carl was out there his dad or one of her boys would find him. She was worried though about the crash, Jenner had just told them that there were Walkers here, what if her screaming had made them aware of the survivors? What if was her fault someone else was going to die?

"Nice shirt." Richard's deep voice almost made Eden jump out of her skin. She silently cursed herself for being so caught up in what she was thinking that she didn't hear him approach her.

"Thanks, its Daryls." She said looking over her shoulder and wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't like how close he was to her or the way his eyes looked over her body. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, since you asked." He smiled taking a step forward bringing their bodies closer. "Ill have what he's having." He whispered to her his eyes staring holes through her own.

"Excues me!" She nearly shouted turning around fully and taking a step back. "What did you say?"

"You know, the Dixon. I could hear you this morning you know, I have to say I like my women vocal." Richard ran his finger over her exposed arm, smiling at the way her skin reacted. "See, I knew you liked me."

"Okay! One: Im getting goose bumps cause you're freaking me the fuck out, Two: I am in no way fucking you and Three: You need to step the fuck back cause you are getting way to close to me." She growled out her voice cracking from its earlier use. "Don't you realize Walkers could be coming in here as we speak, that your partner and the people we care about could be dead right now and we wouldn't even know?" Eden sneered at the man in disgust.

"That wasn't a Walker, something must have fell over tectonic plates and all that. What does that Dixon have that I don't?" Richard took another step forward his hand reaching out and gripping Eden's wrist, squeezing as tightly as he could.

"You're not even half the man that Daryl is, you wouldn't even cross his radar. Compared to him your nothing but a pencil dicked little boy and if you don't let me go right now I swear to God that im going to knee your nuts into your throat." Eden hissed attempting to rip her hand out of his wrist.

"You need to learn to keep your fucking mouth shut." Richard growled pulling Eden closer to his chest.

"And you need to learn to keep your hands to yourself." Shane of all people said; pushing Richard hard in the chest sending the man stumbling back. Raising his gun he pointed the barrel against Richards head, his arm unmoving. "If there is one thing I don't like, its when grown men think they can over power someone just cause of their sex. I expect you to keep you hands at your sides from now on." Shane watched as the man walked away before he turned back to Eden. Giving her a nod he walked off.

"Shane." Eden called after him, grabbing his arm. "Thank you."

"Aint nothing special. Just.. try and stay with someone or at least somewhere were someone can help you."

"Ha. Ill try." Eden smiled and looked down the hallway worried.

"Wasn't anything just Carl messing in stuff he didn't have no business messing in. Daryl and Merle are going around making sure all the doors are still locked while Rick and T-dog are talking with David trying to figure out if there is any place they havent locked up yet. Im here to take everyone to that game room."

"There wasn't anything wrong?" Eden asked again just to make sure. She nodded her thanks when Shane shook his head. If there wasn't anything wrong then why did she have this sinking feeling in her gut that things were about to go down hill.

**Here we are! Chapter Eleven, I tried to make it super long and jammed packed for you guys. I would like to thank two special reviewers: **  
><strong>jeanf<strong>  
>and<br>**hideher**  
><strong>Thank you both for reviewing, I sent both of you sneak peaks into this chapter. Sorry they were kind of short it was the only part I had proof read at the time. :) <strong> 


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

**I want to give a special thanks and dedicate this chapter to FF user- hidher. Thank you for your reviews and your help with this chapter. :)**

Chapter Twelve

"Did you find anything?" Eden questioned as Merle and Daryl came down the hallway.

"All the door along the hallways are locked up pretty tight, though we did find one left open." Merle said leaning against the door frame.

"Where?"

"The shower room, there's a door that goes into another part of the compound; we searched it and couldn't find anyone down there no Walkers either, locked it up pretty tight." Daryl grumbled. He couldn't help thinking back to the day he had kissed Eden, when he finally went and took a shower, he could have sworn he heard a door open. At the time he thought he was being paranoid, now he knew something was going wrong here and he wasn't about to let something bad happen to his group let alone his woman.

Eden's throat was feeling dry and she knew that the blood had left her face. Someone HAD been watching her in the shower, she wasn't crazy. The thing was, who was it? She could tell Merle and Daryl but knowing their tempers they would fly off the handle and not even try and find the right person.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Daryl asked stepping forward, the ashen look on her face was freaking him out a bit. Was it what they found in the bathroom? Was she freaking out about this morning? Had he hurt her more than he thought? "Eden?"

Eden was stuck in thought, someone was watching them in their most private moments. Eden was placing her bets on Richard and after what he said to her today he didn't have a very good chance of not being the pervert. Then again they didn't know anything about David or Jenner. Hell it could be all three of them. There could even be a fourth survivor that no one knew about who was living in that other area.

She didn't know what she should do, does she tell the group what had happened in the shower? If she did they would become irate and want answers. Would their guest want them to leave? Then what? They would have to go back outside, back to living off whatever they could find and fighting for their lives. There would be no more warm showers, no more restful nights. Her people would be starving and scared. She wouldn't force them to go through that again. They locked that door so everything should be ok now. Right? _Right?_

"EDEN!" Daryl shook her shoulders hard, breaking whatever thought the woman in front of him had.

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded like sandpaper rubbing together making Daryl feel even worse. He was to rough with her this morning. He should have taken it easier, but with all the emotions that were flying through him at the time he just thought about himself. "Shane said Rick wants everyone in the game room." She replied blinking a couple times and taking off down the hallway.

"She seem off to you?" Daryl asked looking over at his brother. The man had his thumb in his mouth staring hard at Eden's back. It felt odd asking Merles opinion on something so personal, he visibly flinched when Merle turned around to answer so use to Merles anger.

"Yeah... something she aint saying baby brother. Ill talk to her." Merle patted Daryl on the back and ignored the way his brother flinched from his touch. Instead he half jogged/half walked to catch up with Eden's retreating form. Daryl sighed rubbing his hand over his face. This was harder than he thought it was going to be.

"Hey, Half-Breed wanna escort me back to my room?" Merle asked the troubled woman in front of him, her eyes swinging to him before she gave a single nod and turned back down the hallway and into the med bay.

"They should let you have a normal room." Eden noted as she sat on the edge of Merles bed, bringing her right knee up to rest her chin on. "This aint to comfy."

"You know all about comfy shaking up with my brother now don't you?" Merle commented, smiling at the blush that stained her cheeks. "Aint nothing wrong with it, I'm actually kind of glad."

"Well, if you only brought me in here to give me your blessing, then thank you." Eden stated as she got off the bed. "Ill see you later nubby."

"Now, hold on a minute." Merle grabbed her wrist, letting go instantly when he saw the pained look that flashed in her eyes. Noticing for the first time to dark bruise that wrapped around it. "I need your help with something. Only got one hand you know."

"I aint helping you to the bathroom Merle." Eden commented walking back to the mans bed gently rubbing her sore wrist.

"Aint nothing like that you weirdo. I just need you to help me get this damn thing from around my neck. Can't undo the clasp being crippled." Merle sat beside her inclining his head closer the dark haired woman. Shivering a bit at the cool touch of her fingers as they slid down the back of his shirt in search of the metal clasp of his dog tags.

"You aint a cripple, I bet you could out do any of these wanna be men in here. One handed or not." Eden smiled holding up the dog tags in front of her. "Now what do you want me to do with it?"

Dixon

Merle, L

414-323-2265

AB POS

CATHOLIC

"Didn't know you were catholic." Eden commented holding out the dog tags for Merle to grab.

"Want you to keep em." He said pushing them into the young woman's hands. "You're a Dixon now Eden, in more ways than one. No matter where you go, I have no doubt that Daryl's gonna follow you. Now, you'll always have me there with you too."

"Merle, I cant take your dog tags, I know how much they mean to you." Eden whispered, the tags felt heavy in her hands, still warm from being pressed against Merles skin for so long. "They're part of you."

"Then you know that I aint doing this lightly. They mean more to me then anything in this world, other than my baby brother... and now you. They kept me safe when I was sure I was gonna die, every time I could see death coming for me, I would feel them against my skin. I hardly ever did that, feel them, I had come so use to them being there. But I would feel them and somehow I wouldn't notice death anymore, just a way out." Merle watched the tender way Eden handled the tags, running her fingers over the impressed writing, slowly clasping them around her neck and then gently setting them against her shirt.

"Thank you Merle." She whispered her eyes shinny with tears. "Are you planning on leaving?"

"Now don't go getting no ideas in your head girl. Ya cant get rid of me that easy, now that I'm sobering up I've got a lot of time to make up with my baby brother. Though you cant go hogging him with your exotic charms." He laughed brushing off the emotions the both of them were feeling. In honesty Merle could see darkness at his door again, could feel the heavy weight in his gut. He had a feeling he wouldn't be making it out the man he wanted to be, a clean man.

"Did Daryl do that to your wrist?" Merle asked concern laced in his words. He didn't know Daryl to be a rough man, and that bruise didn't look like it came from any type of love making.

"No! Daryl didn't do it, he wouldn't do it." Eden's eyes raised in alarm at the insinuation. "Richard cornered me when ya'll were checking things out. He got a little mad and grabbed me. Shane, he stopped him though." Eden added looking anywhere but at Merle.

"He stopped him?"Merle growled out. "Did he beat the shit out of him?" Merle asked standing up his fist clinched so hard his nails dug into the calloused flesh. Eden said nothing, she didn't have anything to say. Her silence told him her answer, but she didn't want him to know about what Richard had said to her, she didn't want to be the reason everyone was tossed out into the street.

"We're safe here Merle, I don't want trouble." She whispered head down, ashamed of herself. "I don't want to go back out there Merle, I don't want to go.." She cried, surprised at the tears running down her face. "I don't like the world, its gone to shit. I'm so scared all the time, I cant sleep out there, I cant breath. I'm tired of being scared of loosing someone and I don't know how to be on my own if I get left behind. I'm not ready for all this! How can anyone be ready! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT..." Eden broke down her breathing coming out in ragged short bursts, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so scared." She whispered to herself.

Merle was paralyzed by her confession, he hadn't thought their conversation would come to this. He seen more of a; beating Richard till he couldn't move, conversation going on. She had always seemed so strong. Merle didn't think she was afraid of anything, hell he thought she was the bravest person he had ever know truthfully. She had dragged him through Walker infested woods, saved his sorry ass and had walked through Atlanta. During their time searching for the CDC she would always be one of the first to jump up and protect the group, he had personally seen her face five Walkers on her own before any help had came, she had been on scavenging parties, was the first out of the trucks and the last one in them. Here she was screaming her fears at him, her broken voice making the confession somehow more harsh.

"Eden..." He wasn't good at this, he even thought about getting Daryl to deal with the crying mess she had become. "I don't know.." Instead he sat beside her and pulled her into his side, he let her cry it out. He sat there stiff as a bored awkwardly patting her on the shoulder.

"I'm scared too." He said after a moment. "The Walkers.. I aint ever had to deal with anything like that. I got use to people running away just by looking at me, that or they would stopping fighting after I hit them a bit. These things just keep coming back... and it freaks me out. They don't sleep and they don't need water or shelter... and my biggest fear is becoming one of them. It's the worst death I think I can imagine, being dead but not all at the same time."

They sat there in silence after that, each thinking there own thing comfortable in each others arms. An hour passed, then two yet they still sat there until Eden stood up, her back protesting from the awkward position and still stiffness.

"Merle..."

"I think I'm going to take a nap." He cut her off laying back in his bed and closing his eyes.

"Thank you nubby." She whispered leaving the room and turning off the light. Merle opened his eyes and looked into the darkness. He was going to do something bad... something he hoped he would be forgiven for.

-

Daryl was sitting on the bed his back against the headboard when Eden walked in. He had gone to the game room with everyone else and had listened to Rick tell the group what they had found, he had waited afterwards for Eden to come in and when an hour had pasted he started to feel stupid so he went to their room deciding he was going to clean his crossbow and wait for her to come to him. It had taken him twenty minutes to completely take the damn thing apart, clean it, and put it back together.

Eden bit her lip as she walked across the room to the man she wanted to hold her, but she knew there was talking that needed to be done. Daryl wasn't the type of man that stayed up her ass, he wasn't going to just come out and fan her with questions. Which was a good thing if Eden was to be honest, he forced her to do things on her own; to not wait for someone to initiated something first. To be her own person really.

After a moment of self encouragement she bent down to pick up his crossbow and placed it on the bedside table. Then taking a deep breath she got on her knees in front of him, grabbed his hand and pressed it against her check. She sat there, eyes closed and swam in the filling of safety that the simplest touch from him could bring.

"We need to talk Daryl..." She spoke after a moment, her voice cracking. She didn't want to do this again so soon after her talk with Merle, but her relationship with Daryl was everything to her now, and if she wanted it to be strong she would have to help build the foundation. She smiled at herself when the, "Rome wasn't built in a day" quote popped into her head.

"I know.. I guess I seen it coming." He murmured refusing to take his hand from hers, he wanted to fill her just a moment longer.

"The truth Daryl.." Her voice felt close to giving out. "I'm so scared of the future, I worry about it so much that it physically hurts." She opened her eyes and looked up and him. "I don't want... I don't... Thing are different out there. I mean, just a couple months ago I was worried about rent and car payments and gas. Now I'm worried about dying! I'm worried about you and Merle and those kids and how everyone is going to eat. I'm so scared that I wont make it. That I will loose someone else." Eden felt the tears leave her eyes, leaving them burning.

It was quiet for a moment, Daryl looking down at Eden; Eden looking up at Daryl. Neither saying anything.

"Say something please." She begged.

"You aint regretting what happened earlier?" Daryl's voice was soft as his words trembled. "I thought, you were regretting what we did."

Eden saw for the first time the self hatred Daryl had in his eyes as he looked at her. Eden shook her head as she placed a kiss against his wrist.

"I aint leaving, no matter what happens from here on out I'm not leaving. I'm just terrified I don't know what I'm going to do if we have to leave. I don't want anything to happen while we are here that gets us kicked out, even if I have to keep something's a secre.t Daryl... I don't think I can make it out there again." She said falling back on her butt.

Daryl followed her to the floor, his knees on either side of her legs, hands moving to caress her face. "You can be scared." He pulled her forehead to rest against his own. "Ill be brave enough for the both of us, I aint going to let nothing happen to you. My number one priority is you Eden, you're mine now, everything that I do is gonna be for you. To keep you safe, to make sure you are fed and warm. To make sure you have somewhere safe to sleep at night." Eden let out a broken breath. His words sent relief coursing through her veins. Her lips shook as she pressed them against his in a chaste kiss, it wasn't meant to be sexual, it was a promise in sorts to always be there for him as he was there for her.

"I know I cant stop you from being scared Eden, but I can make you feel safe. I promise to keep you safe, but I need you to tell me when you something bad is happening, I need you to trust me to do the right thing for us." His eyes pleaded with her, some how knowing that she wasn't telling him everything.

"There is something... but later ok. Right now, I need to be close to you, I want to feel something other than fear and worry." She pleaded reaching her hands under his shirt her fingers sliding along the toned skin. He seemed to always be running hot like she was forever running cold.

Daryl took her hand in his own, intertwining their fingers for a moment to bring them to his lips before standing up and bring her up with him.

"I aint making love to you on no floor."He stated at her questioning look.

Daryl turned her till her back was against his chest, her knees hitting the side of their bed. Slowly he placed kisses against her neck, his hands unbuttoning the flannel shirt she wore until his hands and mouth connected with the cool metal of a necklace that wasn't there before.

"What's this?" He questioned bring the dog tags up to his line of sight.

"Merle gave 'em to me. Said I was a Dixon now." She smiled fondly at the memory. "Says you would follow me no matter what, but now I would always have both my boys with me."

"Did good." He said getting back to working on her shirt. He would think about it later, right now his woman needed him and soon she was standing before him naked. Daryl had to take a moment to just look at her, wanting to know every inch of her skin.

"Lay down on your stomach." He whispered in her ear. "Close your eyes for me."

Eden did as she was told, her thoughts were running wild but she kept quiet. It seemed like forever until she felt the bed move around her still she didn't know where Daryl was; until she felt his naked flesh settle on her thighs.

"I aint to heavy on ya?" He asked as he rested is full weight down.

"No." Eden whispered, she had no idea what was going to happen and that had aroused her more than him touching her. She waited for something else to happen, the anticipation was driving her crazy, then she felt something cold hit her shoulder blades.

"Found some lotion in your bag." Daryl explained smiling at her slightly scrunched nose. "I aint spitting on you." He laughed.

Eden's eyes felt like they were rolling into the back of her head as he massaged the lotion into her skin, rubbing out all of the knots him her neck and shoulders. Soon she found herself moaning at the relief. Daryl had magic fingers, she was sure about it. His hands moved expertly down her back taking care of all her aches and pains. Across her ass where she never knew the muscles were so sore until he got to working them out.

She was so turned on, so relaxed; she felt like a puddle of her former self. His ministrations on her ass were making her wet and needy, she had even try a couple times to get him to touch her but every time he would playfully smack her ass and tell her to quit squirming. Needless to say she kept squirming, if only to feel the arousing sting in her butt cheek. Soon Daryl had made his way down and up both of her legs, never touching her in the intimate way she was craving. He'd had her flip over and spread her legs slightly for him. She did so without argument.

Biting back a moan as Daryl got to work on her other side, his hands kneading her breast. She started to feel the warm coil in her lower stomach come back to life.

"Daryl.. you have no idea how good that feels." She shook out. Your mouth started watering as her breaths became uneven. Daryl said nothing, only keeping up with his earlier ministrations. He only stopped to briefly take each of her nipples into his mouth, biting and sucking the hard flesh. Making his way down both her thighs once more before stopping completely.

Eden wanted so bad to open her eyes, to see why he stopped and where he was but she didn't. She used this moment as proof to herself and him that she trusted him. She could hear him move around the room, she could hear his deep breathing, his hands rubbing together. Then before she knew it his mouth had connected to her already soaked and begging center.

"OH shit!" Eden cried as the most delicious orgasm of her life hit her. Her legs and toes clenched as her back lifted off the bed. Daryl's hands gripped her hips keeping her pressed against his face, his mouth moving seductively against her, causing the flame in her stomach to come undone and her body to light up. "OH fuck oh fuckohfuckohfuckohfuck!" She groaned her vagina felt like it was having its own little orgasm as she soared above the clouds. "Daryl.. I.. oh god!" She tried to move away from him as an unfamiliar feeling built up inside her but he wouldn't let her move. "I don't know what's gonna... ugh!" Stars danced behind her eyes once again as warm liquid gushed from her causing Eden to give out a frightened squeak. "Oh god Daryl! I'm so sorry! I didn't know I was gonna.." She sat up as fast as her shaking muscles would let her. "I just peed on you!" She cried her eyes flying open, hands covering her mouth in embarrassment.

"Baby." Daryl reached out for her hands trying to pull them from her face. "Hey, baby look at me." Daryl, after some tugging, finally pulled her hands away and had her looking at him. "Have you never done that before?" He asked brushing the few stray curly strands of her from her face.

"No. I mean.. this one time this guy Alex tried, but it didn't really feel like anything so I faked an orgasm so he would get off but he only used his hands.. no one has ever put their mouth... " She admitted hugging herself. "I didn't mean to pee on you. I cant BELIEVE i peed on you." She trembled.

"You didn't pee on me baby." He said. "At the end you there you uh.. what do they call that shit? Squirted. I don't know how to explain it to you in a technical way but I can tell you it wasn't pee. It happens when you feel a huge amount of pleasure." He tried to explain while rubbing her arms until they were once again less tense and her body started to lose the embarrassed flush.

"Oh.." was all she said before she threw herself back against the bed and laughed with relief. Daryl laughed along with her as he moved over her body and barried his face in her neck. They laid there like that for a while, their hands moving gently along each others skin. Soon their bodies were tangled together.

Eden brought her lips to Daryl's, cherishing the way they worked together, their tongues finding their own rhythm. Moaning against each other as Daryl entered her, the slow way their hips connected sent sparks through both of their bodies. Each thrust was full of meaning, each soft kiss full of words they weren't ready to say. With their fingers intertwined they moved in perfect sync, bodies pressed tightly together; there wasn't a part of them that wasn't touching. They didn't speak, they didn't need to, somehow they knew what the other needed, whether it be a kiss or a moment to catch their breath they knew. Soon it seemed they didn't know where the other began and they ended and when it was over they both tipped over the edge together. Filling each other with the most intimate parts of themselves.

"Baby.. I..." Daryl didn't finish only kept his mouth against her salty skin.

"Me too...Me too." She replied against his hair as she wrapped her arms around his back.

After Eden had left him, Merle had made up a plan. Twisting the knife in his hand he was filled with a mix of emotions. He didn't want to lose Daryl or Eden's trust but he could not just sit there and do nothing. There was a problem and it needed to be solved and he was going to do it. He had to do it, he needed to keep his family together. Yet, he couldn't move, not yet. He couldn't do it yet, he needed to see them first, needed to know that he was doing this for the right reasons.

Tucking his blade in the belt of his pants he made off down the hall until he came to their door. He had raised his hand to knock when he heard the quiet moans and the unmistakable squeak of the bed. Merle nodded to himself, he was doing this for the right reason, he was doing this for his family.

Walking away from that door his stomach knotted making him almost sick. This was going to happen and he might just loose the two people he wanted most in the world, but he would do this for them. He would make sure they were happy and that they had a future and he wasn't going to let anybody get in the way of that.

Finally after searching every room that was available to them, Merle made his way to the shower. He could hear the water flowing from outside the door; and with one last deep breathe he made his way inside.

"What the fuc.." Merle slit his throat before he could finish the sentence. He made it quick, this wasn't malicious, this wasn't meant to be cruel. He wanted it done as fast and as clean as possible. Merle sat at the bench as he watched the blood pour from Richards neck and down the drain. The fucker was dead in moments, yet Merle couldn't force himself to look away. The water and blood mixture made his head spin to the point were he had to close his eyes and take deep breaths through his nose.

He was left setting there until movement brought him out of himself. His eyes landed on the twitching form of Richard, his body convulsing for a moment until it went still again. Then, something that truly scared Merle, he sat up. Richards eyes had taken on the unforgettable milky tone that all the walkers had.

Merle was left stunned until the newly risen form of what use to be Richard had nearly closed in on him. Quickly Merle buried his knife in his head. Checking the once again dead body over for bites he ran from the bathroom. He needed to get some answers, this man was had no bites on him, not even a scratch. He stopped when the lights flickered and true silence filled the halls. He hadn't noticed the constant noise of the air conditioner until it was gone. Then all at once the lights shut off before small dim lights clicked on barley lighting the halls.

"What in the world is going on?" Rick asked running from the game room followed by his family and Shane.

"No idea sheriff." He replied following the man as he made his way to the Jenner's office. "Find everyone, have them meet us in here." He ordered ushering everyone through the doors.

Merle made his way back through the halls already knowing where everyone was from looking for Richard. The last people he had to gather was is family, almost running into the bedroom door he opened it up without knocking. Luckily they were already dressed and looked to be packing up their bags.

"Rick wants everyone to meet him in the Docs office." He gasped out slightly winded.

"What happened to the lights?" Eden asked fear creeping into her voice. Merle remembered her night blindness instantly.

"I have no idea, one moment they were on and the next.. Just hold on to the back of Daryl's shirt Half-Breed."

"Hey Merle. What's that all over your knife?" Daryl asked as she lifted Eden's back pack onto her shoulders and guiding her hand to rest at the knife he strapped at its side. He hated the fact that she couldn't see when it was dark not liking that it left her vulnerable.

"Richard.. he attacked me." He lied as Daryl turned around to face him once again, he didn't miss the way Eden's head had jerked harshly in his direction, or the way her eyes seemed to narrow in disbelief. "Thing is after he was dead he woke up. Stood straight up and tried to take a bit out of me."

"You killed him?" - "He turned into a Walker?" Eden and Daryl's asked at the same time as they started for the door.

"Yeah. I don't know what that means. Checked him over, didn't have a bite on him." They were silent until they made their way into Jenner's office. It was much brighter in there still Eden's hand gripped the back of Daryl's jeans. If anything happened, holding his shirt would cause him to miss his target.

When they walked in Jenner was finishing some type of video on the huge monitors and was trying to explain to everyone what the red numbered clock on the wall meant.

"The compound is locked down as of last night, the clock on the wall is counting down." Jenner said not looking at the group.

"Counting down to what?" Shane asks stepping closer the shot gun in his hands raising slightly.

"Till we run out of fuel, until decontamination."

"You're gonna kill us?" Amy asked clinging to Andrea for dear life. "Don't we get a choice?"

"This isn't what I meant..." Eden whispered into Daryl's back.

"What?" The man before her asked bringing her around to his front.

"When I said I didn't want to go back out there. I didn't mean I wanted to die." Daryl watched the fear intensify behind her eyes. Nodding his head he handed her his crossbow and made his way across the room. Using his elbow he broke the safety glass that held the wicked looking fire axe and began using it to break the metal door down.

"It wont work. Nothing short of a missile will open that door." Jenner commented taking a seat at his desk, the whiskey bottle in hand.

Eden wouldn't be able to tell you what really happened next, once the panic set in she began to black out. At one point she remembered the feel of her fist connecting the flesh and the sounds of Jenner yelling for her to get off. She remembered Merle pushing her towards Daryl as the doors opened everyone was rushing to make their way to the lobby. There was a moment when Amy had fallen almost being left behind and Merle ushering everyone on going back to get the younger woman. There was the shards of glass cutting into the skin of her face as she stood there watching Rick make his own opening and the rush of wind that caught her as they ran outside. She finally came out of her panic when the first Walker reached for her, its putrid hand skimming the exposed skin of her arm until an arrow went through its eye.

"Keep moving!" Daryl yelled pulling her out of the shattered window and towards the trucks. Eden looked back hoping for any sign of Merle and Amy.

"Come on!" She called once the doors opened and the pair stepped out of the elevator just as everyone had reached their cars. She smiled as Merle waved his arm at her, always brushing off her gushy emotions.

Eden's heart pounded in her ears, pure joy radiated through her entire being. They were going to make it she wouldn't have to loose anyone else. Then the world lit up and the ground shook. The force of the explosions sent those who weren't already in their cars flying to the ground. The world was on fire.

"MERLE!" Eden screamed racing towards the falling building. "MERLE!" An arm wrapped around her waist before she could get to far, pulling her back towards the safety of the cars. "No! No! Let go of me." She fought with everything in her, kicking and hitting. She had to get to him, she knew he had made it out. They were right there! RIGHT THERE! It wasn't just her eyes playing tricks, they had been out the window.

"They're gone Eden!" Daryl tried reasoning the her fighting against her bucking body. Her screams becoming more incoherent. "Eden! Baby, they're gone." She didn't listen to him, her fighting increased as she looked towards the rubble. Finally with Shane and T-dog's help they got her into the truck.

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**Oh man. I don't know if anyone has seen the most recent episode but it was AMAZING! I have so much to say about it! Message me if you want to have one of those amazing fan convo's concerning our favorite survivors. I would also like to apologize for this chapter taking so long, I had hit a bit of a rough spot writing this because I didn't know how it was going to end, though I had always had my suspicions. I'm wanting the next chapter or two to just be fillers make the group a little closer and all that jazz. Anyway, thank you guys for being the special people you are and I hope to continue to make this story amazing.**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story) **

Chapter Thirteen

It had been three hours since they had left the CDC and not one word was said. What could be said? Neither Eden nor Daryl knew how to confront what had happened, they had lost people today. People who were loved, who were going to be missed. It didn't seem right not being able to burry their dead but they had their own selves to think about. If they had stayed any longer who knows how many more would be lost.

Merle and Amy would be mourned. They would be remembered but they wouldn't cause the group to loose their lives. Still, knowing that they had no other choice but to leave their family and friends behind didn't make the decision any easier.

"They were alive." Eden said finally. Her cheek pressed against the cool window. "They were alive and we left them there." She couldn't help the anger in her voice, the betrayal in her heart.

"They didn't make it out." Daryl responded eyes never leaving the road in front of them. He had watched as the CDC went up in flames, as the blast knocked them against the truck.

"They weren't dead!" Eden lashed out at the dashboard. "I seen them cross the window, I seen them! I know I did!"

Daryl's fist hit hard against the steering wheel causing Eden to jump back in fear and surprise. Again and again he slammed his fist against anything he could reach, the truck swerved and scraped against an abandoned minivan. Eden shrank back in her seat, eyes wide watching the angered man.

"They were fucking dead Eden. MY brother was fucking dead! You hit the truck so hard you don't know what you saw! You think you are the only one feeling anything? The only one allowed to lash out? How do you think Andrea and I feel, hmm? It was our family we have known them all our fucking lives and you think we don't fucking hate the fact that they are gone?" Daryls voice raised with each word until he was finally silent.

Eden felt horrible for not taking him into consideration, Merle was his brother and here she was acting like she was the only one feeling anything.

"Im sorry." She said reaching grabbing his rough hand as he switched gears.

"Don't." He growled jerking back. Again nothing was said until the group stopped outside of an old one level road side motel.

"Shane and I will search the office real fast. I want everyone to stay in their cars. Daryl I want you to keep watch on top of the RV, let us know if you see anything." Rick ordered checking his gun and giving a short nod to the two men in question.

Daryl turned around and looked at the woman sitting beside him, her eyes looking anywhere but at him. "Eden I..."

"Rick needs you to keep watch. We don't need anyone else dying today." She deadpanned, she didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to see the anger in his eyes again.

Daryl didn't say anything else simply got out the truck and made his way to the RV egger to do anything but dwell on the problems at hand.

-

Rick and Shane moved efficiently through out the small office. It only had the small space for guest to sign in, a back office the size of a closet and last a bathroom. Banging could be heard behind the small door, the lone walker was easy to put down. Leaving the two men to search for any food or drink that could be found and still fresh enough to eat. They came back with three bottles of water a can of coke and a couple candy bars.

At the last moment Shane grabbed the sign in book off the small table in the lobby and followed Rick out the door.

"Hey man, thought we could take a look at this and see which rooms were taking. Hopefully it will make it easier to clear this place out." Shane waved to book in the air as he caught up to the man.

"Great idea man. Bring it over to the Jeep while I get everyone settled." Rick patted his friend on the back with a smile.

After gathering the group beside the Jeep, Daryl and T-dog perched at the far ends ready incase of an attack, they went over the guest book.

"Looks like there is only nine rooms in this whole place and 3 master keys. We know that rooms 5, 9 and 1 were previously occupied and it doesn't look like they checked out before the outbreak. Andrea, Dale, Carol, Sophia, Lori and Carl will all stay inside the office for now. T-dogg and Glenn, I want one of you inside just incase and the other outside the door. Shane, I want you on top of the RV. Keep a look out for any Walkers." Rick had laid out the plan for everyone. Having previously asked Eden if she was stable enough to be on the clear out team. With a bit of reassuring the group agreed and they set off to search the occupied rooms for any Survivors or Walkers.

" Eden you take room 1, Ill take 5 and Daryl you take 9. I want this fast and quiet. You get in and you get out. No guns if you can help it."

"No guns." Eden agreed using the key to open the door.

The room was darker than she would have wanted, but not enough that she couldn't completely see. Even though she knew that it wouldn't work, on instinct she reached over and flipped the light switch.  
><em><br>Figures _

Eden looked through the front room, her mind otherwise occupied. She never really did well with loss, when she had lost her family she always had Aaron to keep her occupied, when she lost Aaron she had Merle. Now with Merle gone she didn't have anything to distract her. Daryl wasn't the type to really need her help and he didn't like being coddled.

Bending over to look under the bed, Eden wasn't aware of the distant shuffling until it was to late. Stiff hands grabbed at the back of her neck pulling her to her feet as another pair of hands grabbed her ankles and pulled until she fell to the ground. She could feel the hot breath against her scalp as the Walker pulled her head closer.

Eden tried to move, tried to flip over but every time the nails dug deeper and deeper into her skin. Gripping her knife she slashed above her as hard as she could. Over and over again each time connecting with flesh still the Walker never died. Its rotten teeth bit into the bun on her head, biting and ripping at her hair.

Feverishly she wiped the knife off on the rug, scrubbing the Walker gore off the blade. Then with a deep breath she let her full weight fall to the ground, her left hand reaching up to grip the neck of the Walker above her and thrust the knife in her right hand forward, screaming as the blade cut into the thin skin from her cheek to her temple and up through her scalp. The blade imbedded itself into the skull of the Walker.

The growling of the Walker pulling at her feet became louder at the sight and smell of her blood. The same blood that was running and burning her eye, that poured from the blazing wound. Finally able to push the body off her back so was able to roll over enough to kick at the crawling corpse.

She kicked against its already mushy face until her foot imbedded itself inside. Letting out a breath her body sagged against the carpet. She had little to no energy left and what she did have was seeping away with each pulsing pain that went through her face. Slowly the pain was building and for a moment she thought there was a knocking against her skull until the door burst open. It knob embedding itself into the plaster wall.

"Eden?" Rick called coming around the bed and passing her heading for the bathroom. Daryl came next, crossbow raised ready for anything. Like she should have been. Always one to check every corner Daryl was the first to find her. His cross bow dropped immediately on the bed as he flung the Walkers away from her and dropped to his knees. She could hear him faintly calling for Rick, his strong arms lifting her easy, making her head spin. She could tell he was talking to her but couldn't make out the words.

-  
>Daryl waited until Eden had opened and entered her room. Taking a second to make sure he heard the sound of the door latching before he approached his own door. It was one of the rules the group had agreed on in the beginning that if you where searching a room you closed the room behind you. You didn't want a lone Walker sneaking up on you.<p>

The key slid easily into the lock just as he slid easily into his hunting mode. No distractions, he couldn't afford them any slip could mean his life.

Like Merle.

Daryl quickly pushed the thoughts about his brother out of his mind, and raised his crossbow to eye level. Quickly and efficiently he searched the front room finding only a purse and a lone suitcase. So far there was no sign of anything living or dead.

Finally Daryl made his way through small hallway noticing the faint knocking coming from behind the bathroom door. Making quick work of looking through the closet he cautiously opened the bathroom door. The smell that hit him almost brought him to his knees. The small bathroom was covered in blood and glass. Fallen bottles of peroxide and bandage wraps.

The motel had been cheaply made, its small bathroom space cramped tight from the sink to the toilet, and resting behind the bathroom door was a floor to celling shower. Attached to that shower was a female Walker. Daryl took a step back, the woman had tried to hang herself, he figured she thought it would stop her from turning. Poor bastard had been wrong.

In another life Daryl would have thought her to be pretty, with long hair and slim frame. Surely she had a someone who loved her or missed her. The rope around her neck twisted her head into an awkward angle tilting her chin up. Daryl took a step forward and watched as she trashed against her bond causing thick black blood to seep from the restraint around her neck into the once soft blue of her dress. A gruesome bite could be seen along her collar bone. Not everyone was meant to make it.

Daryl made it quick, lowering his crossbow he pulled his knife out and with a swift jerk her buried it in her temple. He was pulling it out of her decaying flesh when he heard the scream. His heart hit the bottom of his shoes as he raced out of the door. Rick was already outside of Eden's room, waving T-dog back into the office as he slammed his shoulder against the door.

"Eden! Open the door!" Again and again his body crashed against the wood until Daryl couldn't take it anymore. Anything could be happening in there, she could already be dead. Grabbing Rick roughly by the shoulder he flung him away from the door. Putting all his weight into it, he rammed his foot into the door, above the doorknob immediately the door swung open and imbedded itself into the wall. Rick was the first to enter, scanning the front room quickly before making his way to the bathroom. Daryl once again had the smell of decaying flesh hit him in the face. Instantly he knew that the Walkers had been in the front room, checking his corners he found her between the two twin beds.

It was like he couldn't breath, there was blood everywhere. Dropping his crossbow on the bed he began pulling the Walker at her feet while calling Rick into the room. The Walker came off with a sickening pop taking her shoe in its caved in forehead. The second Walker wasn't connect to her at all, only a little bit of Eden's hair wrapped around its bony fingers. He was aware of the muffled moaning coming from her now, her small hand gripping tightly to her face.

"Was she bit?" Rick asked behind him. "Daryl was she bit?"

"I don't know! Damn it I don't know!" He yelled trying to take her hand away from her face. Bile rose in his throat as blood gushed from the wound underneath. "No.. no baby. Keep it on there." Picking her up he made his way out the room.

"Daryl if she is bit we cant have her around the others." Rick tried to make him understand placing his hand on his shoulder fully expecting him to lash out.

"Rick.. I don't know where to take her." Rick wasn't expecting the look of desperation in the strong mans eyes.

"Take her to 5, I didn't find anything in there." Without another word Daryl carried her to the room. Trying to keep her face pressed tightly to her hand and his chest.

"Almost there baby. Im gonna make it alright." He kept muttering as he made his way slowly to the open door. He didn't want to risk jarring her any, didn't want to make her pain any worse. His heart was stuck somewhere between his chest and his throat. Every time he tried to swallow the lump in his throat it became harder and harder to keep it together. "Im gonna make everything ok."

Laying her down on the bed he froze. What exactly was he suppose to do in this situation? Looking around he grabbed the nearest pillow and tried to place it on her face before thinking twice. He wasn't trying to fucking smother her. Taking the pillow out of the case he hesitated before removing her hand from the still bleeding cut.

"Baby, I need to stop the bleeding." Daryl tried to sound as confident and as reassuring as he could but he knew by the quake in his voice that he was failing.

"My face hurts." Eden whispered her eyes squeezed shut, watching her like that made him feel like shit. Wasn't it just hours ago that he vowed to protect her, that he said that he was going make her feel safe.

"I know baby. Im gonna fix that... but its going to hurt until we can. Okay?"His voice broke as he lifted her hand off her face, watching her shove her other fisted hand in her mouth to muffle her scream made him nauseous. Finally he got the bundled up pillowcase over the jagged cut.

"Hold that down tight. Im gonna see if I can find you something to take the pain off." He kissed her blood covered forehead and made his way to the door.

"Don't leave me." Eden panicked, then in a much softer broken voice added, "Everyone leaves me."

"I aint leaving you, but I need you to be strong while I go find Rick and see if I can find you a pill or two. I just need you to stay strong until I get back. Can you do that for me?" Daryl ran out the door as soon as he saw her nod.

Daryl didn't waste much time looking for Rick as he did running to the back of his truck. In the motorcycle stashed there was Merles pill bag. In there was enough pain killers and antibiotics to put down a horse. Taking the small bottle of liquid codeine his brother had stashed, he ran back into the room.

"While I find a bottle of water or a cup I need you to tell me...were you... did the Walkers.. baby were you bit?" Daryl asked coming up beside her.

"When I was little my Uncle use to make me the best eggnog in the world. Never bought that store shit." She rambled her hand no longer holding the once white clothe down. "I could have it anytime I wanted."

Daryl bit hard against the inside of his mouth, he remembered when Merle had came home with a knife wound on his side, all he would talk was nonsense. Said afterwards that the pain had gotten so bad that he just checked out.

"Eden look at me. I know it hurts but you have to concentrate. Were. You. Bit?" His hands cupped the clean side of her face wanting to make her listen some how.

"You think this is pay back."She asked looking him in the eyes but some how looking so far away. "When Aaron...came back as one of those things I shot him in the face. Half his face was gone.. this is payback isnt it.?" Daryl knew she wasn't talking to him anymore.

"How bad is it?" Shane asked coming in the door with a small white box in his hands. "You think its gonna need stitches?"

Daryl didn't say anything at first his words just didn't want to come out. He hated it, hated the fact that he was weak in this moment and needed Shane of all people to help him out; to help Eden out.

"Daryl?" Shane urged coming closer to Eden's side, eyes wide at all the blood. "You sure she wasn't bit?"

"I don't know, she wont tell me." His mouth was dry, no matter how many times he tried he couldn't make it any wetter. "I tried to talk to her, she just.. I don't know what she's talking about man." He defended, the blood on his hands was drying.. her blood.

Shane bent over Eden as she talked to herself, peeling the cloth back shaking his head as blood continued to seep from the open wound.

"Daryl, I going to need some hot water and when I say hot I mean fucking boiling. I don't have any sterile cloths to wrap her face in so were gonna have to make some. Go tell Carol and Lori will you." He wasn't asking, he needed to get the man out of the room before he passed out. Shane had never thought much of either of the Dixons, to him they were trash. They may not be on his level in his mind, but they were strong as fuck and at this moment Daryl was anything but strong.

"She doesn't want me to leave." Daryl said watching as Shane took out a small bottle of alcohol out of the white first aid kit at his side. How did he not notice him bring that in?

''She doesnt even know where she is right now. Faster you get that done, the sooner we can fix her up." Shane never looked up from the bleeding gash on Eden's face.

Time seemed to drag at the same time it seemed to fly by, Shane sat in the same position trying to be as gentle as he could. Still the woman, no matter how hard she fought it, cried out each time the needle went through her skin. It had taken a gut wrenching two hours and twenty stitches but finally Shane had finished.

"Eden can you hear me?" Shane asked cutting the last stitch. Instead of an answering Eden just looked at him, taking that as conformation he continued. "I have your cut stitched up best I could, you're gonna have a scar though there wasn't anything I could do about that." Snapping his fingers in front of the woman's face, the stitching had worked to bring her out of her dazed state but had tired her out.

"Were you bit?" He asked gaining her full attention. "Rick said when they found you, you had two Walkers on you and you have to admit you weren't very coherent. You mind if I have Lori and Carol come and look you over? It would feel good to get these clothes off and get cleaned up a bit don't you think?"

"You don't have to try and persuade me Shane." Eden answered moving her mouth as little as she dared. "Just send them in. I don't want to put anyone in danger...give them a gun."

Nodding Shane left the room.

**I know I havent updated in what..2 months. Jesus I suck I know and im sorry I know how much it sucks waiting for someone to update. This chapter was really hard to write I just didn't know how to put everything into words. Thank you for staying with me this long. **


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story) **

Chapter Fourteen

Eden sat quietly on the toilet as Carol and Lori used a rag to wipe her down, they were gentle enough but still she couldn't help but flinch every time they touched her. She wouldn't look anywhere but at the floor, she couldn't stand the pity in their eyes.

She wasn't bit. Thank god, but she couldn't get it out of her head that she could have been. She was careless, she wasn't at her best and she would always have the scar to prove it. She had asked Lori, when the woman had walked in, where Daryl was. She wanted to know why he hadn't been in to see her. She hadn't seen him since the fight in the truck and thought that by now he would have come in to see if she was ok, surely he knew what had happened. Lori told her that he was in the truck sitting there, that he had been there almost all night. Surely he wasn't that mad at her?

At first the two women tried to fill the silence with idle chatter trying to get Eden to interact with them, then thought better of it when she slammed the gun she had been holding tightly on her lap, on the bathroom counter. They had washed her, acting nice and caring, but Eden knew they were only watching her to see if she would break down, to make sure that even though she wasn't bit she wouldn't be a danger to herself of their kids.

It was over quick enough, the awkward touches and the sad glances had put the woman on edge and honestly she just wanted to be alone. She had refused all pain killers, she didn't want to become addicted to them and now that the world had ended you never knew when you would REALLY need them. She would endure the pain for the greater good of the group, that and she needed to feel it. This was her mistake, she could have been killed and she deserved everything that was coming to her.

Without thanking the two women she grabbed the jeans and t-shirt they had laid out for her and as quickly as she could she got dressed and tucked herself into bed. Turning over the blood stained pillow she closed her eyes and tried to push the pounding from her head, before she knew it she was asleep.

"You think she's asleep or dead?" That was the question that woke Eden up the next morning. Bringing her out of her painless and dreamless sleep.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"I think you need to shut the fuck up." Eden groaned as she sat up against the head board, eyebrow raised at Carl and Sophia who were perched at the end of her temporary bed.

"If there was a possibility that I could be dead, why are ya'll even in here?" She asked trying to not be to rude to the two in front of her. They were kids after all and even if she was in pain and they had woken her up there wasn't any need to be mean to them.

"I wanted to see you." Sophia was the first to respond, Carl looking like he was about to shit himself.

"Your face." He finally choked out. "It looks nasty."

"Well, thank you for the vote of confidence young man." Eden wasn't all that hurt, Aaron use to say things like that all the time. It was just how boys were, they spoke the first thing that came to their mind and usually didn't realize what they said could be hurtful.

"Carl! You don't say things like that." Sophia chastised looking like a disapproving mother with her finger wagging in the air. Eden was pretty entertained by the two kids arguing, it made her headache worse but it helped her forget about Merles death and herself almost becoming Walker food at least for a little while.

"Do you know where Daryl is?" She finally asked breaking up fight. "I havent seen him in awhile."

"I seen him with Andrea earlier." Carl said after pushing Sophia back for the last time.

"No you didn't. He was with Miss Andrea last night, he went hunting this morning."

"So, I got half of it right." Carl deflated moving to sit beside Eden at the top of the bed.

Eden didn't want to think to much about what the kids had said, they could be wrong or misreading things. Andrea and Daryl had both lost family yesterday and even though she was stuck in here didn't mean all his attention should be on her.

"Are you hungry Miss Eden? Mama cooked some oatmeal this morning I can see if there is anymore left." Sophia asked always egger to helps someone.

"No, I'm fine. My face hurts to much." Sighing she scooted back down under the blanket and laid down. "Ya'll can tell me stories though, I'm sure ill be in here for awhile." It wasn't a lie, her face did hurt but it wasn't the reason she didn't want to eat. Her head was full of Daryl and the reason he hadnt been in to see her.

Sophia jumped at the opportunity and started telling her a story about some princess who was locked in the tower. Going on and on about the color of her dress and how golden her hair was. Regular girl stuff, just as Carl told her stories about Transformers. Though all his stories were pretty much the same, he would just change the names around. It didn't take Eden long to fall asleep to the sounds of fake car explosions and damsels in distress.

Everyday was pretty much the same. Eden would wake up, force herself to eat something and drink a bit of water. Then the kids would come in and tell her stories or just talk about what was on there mind and Eden would nap. She would wake back up to Shane coming in to check on her and times he would just come into talk.

The only time she would ever see Daryl was when he thought she was asleep. He would sneak in, pull a chair up beside her bed and leave before the sun came up. He never said anything and neither did Eden. There were times were she wanted to be the bigger person, to let him know she wasn't asleep, to be the one to try and fix whatever was going on.

She had never been to good at taking the high road.

She stayed in that hotel room for five days before the walkers had found the group. Shane was the one to let her know everyone was ok but they had to move.

"We're running out of food and the walkers are right on our backs. You know I wont sugar coat it for you. We are moving today even if you don't feel up to it."

Eden didn't take it as him being an asshole. They had gotten a bit closer these last couple days, him being the only adult who would come to see her for extended periods of time. He was always blunt with her and she wouldn't have it any other way. The days for lies were over, in this world they could get you killed.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**AN: Just a fair warning before you start reading, there is a pretty hefty time skip in this chapter. I want to get things really started and I feel like this is the best way to get this story back on track. Sorry, its been... months since I last update, I have no excuse jus an apology. **

**Chapter Fifteen**

When everything was said and done, and the group headed out onto the road Eden felt no different about the situation her relationship with Daryl was in. They had yet to really speak, so she had taken it as a sign to find another person to ride with but as she was getting into the jeep with Shane, Daryl had came up behind her and steered her to his truck.

She would like to say that she was strong and refused to go with him or at least told him off for herding her like sheep. Instead she remained silent and let him move her, it was the first contact she had, had with him in god knows how long and she didn't want to spoil it.

They hadnt been driving for more than an hour when she couldn't take the silence any longer.

"You think its gonna rain?" She asked shaking her head. She was being a coward and she knew it, playing with the tags around her neck she sighed. "That's not what I meant to say. Im sorry for being a dick, I didn't think about anyone else but myself."

When he hadnt said anything for more than five minutes her brave face started to fall. She didn't really know how to handle these types of situations.

"I fucked up." She admitted ringing her hands together. Her face stung like a bitch, her head felt to full and her chest was starting to get tight. She just wanted everything to get better already, she wanted him to talk to her. She wanted him to hold her and let her cry on his shoulder. She wanted to feel safe.

"Are you not talkin' to me because of my face? I know it looks ugly..."

"Don't." He cut her off, hand reaching over to stop her more frantic ones. "It don't make you ugly or nothin'. Im just mad that you got hurt, that I didn't help keep you safe like I promised." His voice was tight as he forced the words out.

"You've been avoiding me because of that?" Eden scoffed once he nodded. "This was my fault Daryl. I did this to myself, I let myself get distracted." Lacing her fingers with his, she scooted into his side. "Next time don't avoid me."

"We good?" He asked bringing their joined hands to rest on his lap.

"For now." Eden joked but had to force herself not to smile. In truth there were a lot of things left unsaid. This was one of those points in life where you either choose to fight about what's going wrong or you let it go. For all anyone knew they didn't have much time left, and they both wanted to spend it together. Happy, at least of a moment.

The sat like that for nearly two hours, just enjoying each other. Enjoying the rare moments of peace that driving brought them. Of course they would see the occasional walker here and there but other than that nothing important happened.

"Gave my gun to Shane." Eden said out of the blue. "I don't think I have the right head for it right now. " She had made the decision to give up her gun the second day she had been bedridden. After a talk with Shane and Rick they all three decided that it was the best decision, at least until she could get her head back on straight. Until then she would be staying with the kids and their mothers. Even though she wasn't to fond of being labeled as weak she knew it was better for everyone in the group.

"You're carrying my knife on you then." Daryl told her after she had explained her reasoning's. Always wanting her to be armed.

"Yes sir." Eden nudged his side as they came to a stop at an old mattress warehouse.

As always everyone crowed around the RV as Rick laid out the plan. Daryl, Tdog and himself would go inside and sweep the area. Shane and Glenn would keep watch on top of the RV and everyone else was to sit in there respective cars until someone came and got them.

Eden was fine with the plan. Her head was currently pounding and she felt like she needed to lay down but her pride, as it usually does, got in the way and she refused to show any type of weakness.

"You gonna be ok out here by yourself?" Daryl asked as he led her back to his truck. "You don't look so good."

"Im fine, just thirsty and a bit hungry." It wasn't really a lie. "Cant wait to sleep on one of those fancy dancy beds." Daryl gave her one of his rare smiles and went to do what he did best.

**One Month Later**

Time seemed to fly now that the group had their own system, everyone worked together knowing that if they didn't, there was no chance for survival. The group had made their way slowly across the state, having to stop here and there for days at a time, hiding from walkers or resting their injured. There were days were it felt like nothing would go right. Carl would get lost; Eden and Daryl would argue; Shane would mouth off; Andrea would bitch until someone, mostly Eden, threatened to punch her.

Then there were days when it seemed like everything would be ok for once, that maybe, just maybe, they could make it. They would find food, water, supplies. Be able to rest in a safe place for a couple days. They would find enough gas to fill up each car.

The group had decided that they would head to Fort Benning, something Shane was all too happy about. Pushing them towards the highway and closer to Eden's childhood home. There were many times when she would notice certain road marks or small shops that she visited when she was younger, causing her throat to close up and tears to burn her eyes. She kept quiet though, these were memories she wanted to keep close to her heart, afraid that if she spoke them out loud she would start to forget them.

They were down to three vehicles, there wasn't enough gas to go around anymore. The RV, the Cherokee and Daryl's bike. There were times when Eden was worried about the loud roar the bike gave off, wanting to always keep as quiet as possible. Still it was easier on gas than the truck and according to Daryl, it would help them get away faster if there was a hoard on their tail.

Today was the day that they had talked about getting her gun back. She had been taking it slow, between the constant pain her face had been in and her mind always wondering back to the deaths of those close to her, she hadn't been ready to take the responsibility of a gun.

Before to long the group had to stop. It seemed like ever day the old RV was shutting down, needing a new part here and there. Today would be no different. Add that to the large pile of cars ahead of them and they were in for a long day.

Eden briefly heard Lori say something on the lines of not wanting to pick through the wreckage, comparing it to a gave yard. Eden decided not to comment on how stupid that was, she never complained when they scavenged to get the clothes that were on her back, or the food that was keeping her fed. Hell, the woman never complained about the scavenging unless she was the one having to do it.

Instead, she headed to the top of the camper to help Dale keep watch. A smile stretched across her face as she watched Carl and Sophia paying a quiet game of catch around the maze of cars. It made her chest ache for her family, they would always weigh heavy on her heart. She wanted it that way, afraid that if it wasn't she would forget them.

"Feeling ok?" Daryl asked from below her, throwing up a bottle of water. "Head hurting any?"

"No sir. Thought I might get me tan, I'm looking kinda pale don't you think." She joked taking a quick drink before throwing the bottle back down to him, smiling at the scowl on his face. "You're all the work down there, you need it more than me."

Daryl just shook his head and headed back to find a hose for the bucket of scrap.

"If you find some chocolate, ill love you forever." Eden called after him, remembering not to be to loud.

"You already do." He called back before hurrying away. Eden didn't know what to think about that, she knew she had strong feelings for the grumpy man, but love was something different, something more. She wasn't even sure she knew what love really was, she loved her family, loved her friends but wasn't a love between man and woman different? Did it feel different?

A quick jerk on her collar had her falling backwards out of her chair and on her back, a hand clamped firmly on her mouth. Looking up to Dales pale face she knew something was wrong. Sitting up just enough to look around she heart hammered in her chest.

A horde.

_'Oh god, where is Daryl!' _Her mind was screaming at her as she frantically looked around for him. She could see all her friends hiding in or under cars, but her heart didn't stop feeling like it was going to explode until she seen Daryl throwing a dead walker over himself; their eyes connecting for a moment before a crash from inside the RV caught her attention.

Looking down at a frantic Andrea stabbing a walker over and over with a screwdriver, small whimpers coming from her mouth.

"Close the door." Eden whispered though the skylight catching the woman's attention and bringing her out of her murderous daze.

Looking for Daryl once more, Eden's eyes caught a small body moving from under one of the cars, Sophia's blonde hair gave her away. Her small voice calling out for her mother. Eden didn't register the walker beside the small girl at first, not seeing it between all the cars, until the girl let out a small scream.

Eden's reaction was automatic. Taking a quick glance at Daryl she shook her head, telling him to stay where he was and jumped from the RV, landing awkwardly on her ankle and raced after Sophia and the walker.

After the first few steps Eden barley noticed the pain in her leg; and as the adrenalin kicked in everything but getting to Sophia flew from her mind.

She wouldn't loose someone else.

She couldn't.

Before she could reach the scared child, two more Walkers staggered into the chase, bringing with them an all new sense of urgency. She was so focused on reaching Sophia she didn't hear the pounding steps behind her.

Taking Daryl's knife from her hip she plunged it into the back of the walkers head, not taking the time to pull it out, she let the dead thing fall to the ground, knife still lodged into its brain, and kept forward.

She was so close, a finger tips distance separated them as they reached the embankment. The short drop into the freezing water helped shock some of the panic out of her system. Rick helped with the rest, jumping down onto one of the fallen walkers and ending its harsh second life.

Distracting the flesh eaters, Rick ordered the girls back to the highway. Eden was all to happy to leave him to deal with the dead and get the small weeping girl back to her mom; but fate it seemed had other plans in mind.

Throwing walkers in front of the two females, throwing them off their trail and deeper into the surrounding wood.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and all its original characters belong to their rightful owners. I only get to play with them. (applies to all chapters of this story)**

Chapter Sixteen

They were alone. Running and tired, when they reached the old church it seemed like finally God was smiling down on them. Looking through one of the stained glass windows they found out that safety wasn't going to come without a price.

There were walkers inside the church, not a lot, but enough that two tired, weaponless women couldn't over power.

"Hand at the back of my pants." Eden whispered to the whimpering girl, guiding her wrist to her belt loops. As quietly as they could, they made their way around the church, looking for some safe way inside before the sun went down.

Eden was about to give up when Sophia started pulling on her shirt tail and pointing to an opened window at the back top most part of the church. Big enough for Sophia to easily fit through, Eden on the other hand would need to do some squeezing.

"Good eye hun. Now all we need is a ladder." Going to the broken down shed Eden started digging through the wreckage. Without anyone to keep up with the growing vines and weather damage the state of the shed was less than desirable.

Finally, minutes before night fall they had enough crud moved that they were able to get to an awkward looking ladder. That and the garden sheers they had found was better than what they had started off with. It took a while, having to be as careful as possible, to get up the ladder. Thankfully right inside of the window was a small landing; only long enough for the two to sit on but wide enough to be able to pull the small ladder through the window.

"Have I ever told you about my little brother Aaron?" Eden asked the sniffling girl, pulling her to her side.

"No ma'am." She whispered wiping her nose along the back of her hand.

"He was... amazing." Eden said with a smile on her face. "Good grades, polite, great at sports.I remember one time, it was snowing at our house, and Aaron having the ego of a Greek god, randomly told our mom that he shouldn't be let outside. When mama asked him why, he looked at her and with the most serious expression that he could muster and said, 'Cause, I'm so hot ill melt the snow.' " The story had worked in making the small girl smile. "He had to grow up real fast, to fast really but without him I wouldn't be alive. He saved me, more than I saved him. But you know what?" She asked Sophia bumping their shoulders together.

"What?"

"I bet you a hundred hot fudge Sundays that we'll last twice as long. I got a girl with me this time." She winked playing on the conversation she had, had with the two kids a while back about girls being smarter than boys.

"That's right! We don't need stupid boys." She smiled.

"We have to be strong though." Pointing down to the walkers sitting in the pews and scattered around the isle ways."That means that we cant cry. We cant see, when we cry can we? If we cant see, then it makes it easier for them to get us."

"I understand." A steel Eden had never seen before hardened in the small girls back.

That first night was hard, the young girl was on edge the whole time, jumping each time one of the dead below them made the slightest noise, making the already restless night even more horrible.

They were up and out away from the barn before the sun had rose in the sky. Taking the sheers Eden carved a small arrow into the back of the church pointing towards the woods.

"What's that for?" Sophia asked as her small fingers traced the indention.

"It's for Daryl, so he can find us."

"Do you really think they'll look for us?" Sophia asked, taking hold once again of Eden's belt loops.

"I don't think your mama will be sleeping until she has you in her arms again." Eden said patting the little girls hand.

"Mr. Daryl too. He's not going to leave you behind, no matter what Miss Andrea says."

Eden wanted so bad to ask her what Andrea had said but they only had so much time in a day and she wanted to put as much ground behind them as she could. Instead of itching at her curiosity they kept moving and by the time the sun had risen Eden was sure they had put a good couple miles between themselves and the church.

"Can I put the arrow this time?" Sophia asked small hands gripping the garden sheers.

"Sure thing." Walking a bit farther head Eden spotted a walker staggering around the woods, head swinging wildly in their direction at the sound of the girls carving.

Once the walker got close enough to her, Eden knocked it to the ground, pinning it under her.

"Soph get over here." Even though she was hesitant Sophia rushed to Eden side, holding the sheers out to her. "It's your turn. Just imagine him as someone you hate, someone you wish you could have stood up too." The walker was getting harder and harder to pin down, but she didn't want Sophia to know that. She needed the little girl to do this herself, she need her to learn.

Taking Eden off guard Sophia plunged the sheers through the walkers head, over and over again until it was nothing but a red mess.

"I though of my daddy. He always hit mama and me." Sophia was covered in blood and Eden expected her to be crying, shaking, something. Instead she stood up and wiped the end of the sheers on her pants leg, same as Eden had done earlier. She seemed almost normal, still a bit scared but the steel was back in her spine and her eyes were no longer as wet as they were minutes ago.

"Lets try and find some place to stay. Some place where there is hopefully food." Taking the girls hand in her own they took off into the wood, Eden gritting her teeth the whole time her ankle was getting worse and if she didn't do something to it soon, she didn't think she would be able to walk much farther.

-

Daryl was sure he was going into a panic attack, his heart was beating so hard against his chest that he was sure everyone could hear it. Carol wasn't much better, crumbling in a fit of tears. Rick had returned, momentarily breaking the constant hammering in his heart, that was until Daryl realized he came back alone.

He didn't have to think about what he was going to do, on instinct he grabbed his crossbow and started off into the woods.

"Its almost dark out, I don't think even you would be able to track them." Rick said grabbing his arm.

"You expect me to just sit here and let her wonder out there by herself?" Daryl knew his voice was rising, that his body was shaking but he couldn't control it.

"She's with Eden, they'll be ok until morning." Daryl ripped his arm away from the man, leaning so close to his face that their breathing mixed.

"I wasn't talking 'bout her." He growled, taking a seat on the guard rail. He needed to go out there and find her, he promised he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

He sat there all through the night, watching, listening for any sign of them making their way back to the road and when the first signs of morning came he woke Rick up and headed off into the woods. He would be damned if he wasted anytime. He was reluctant to have Shane and Glenn tag along, but in the end he had no choice.

They were minutes into their search when he found a walker on the ground, a dead walker. A dead walker with his knife in its eye. He had held onto the hope that Eden wasn't defenseless as she trekked through the woods, this though, this brought everything into a new light. A person could only last so long out here without a weapon.

Daryl picked up his pace, following his woman's footprints, noting the way she seemed to favor on leg over the other. She was hurt. He could feel himself shaking again, his eyes burning. He hunted animals before, stalking the injured until they couldn't go any farther, then slitting their throats. This didn't fell much different. Then when their trail veered away, he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

"We're gonna keep looking. Ya'll should go on back and keep everyone calm." Ricks hand landed on Daryls shoulder, bringing the near panicked man out of his own head. They continued the search, Daryl now looking to the trees for signs of the arrows he seen her marking so long ago.

"Walker." Rick whispers pointing through the trees at the dead man, his jaws working back and forth. They were quick in killing him, Rick checking his mouth while Daryl took another route. Gripping his knife he cut into the mans stomach desperate for a sign that he hadn't been eating Eden or Sophia. What he found almost made him smile.

A woodchuck. No human what so ever.

"We should head back Daryl. We'll start again in the morning. Maybe they already made it back?" Daryl didn't have the energy to argue. The sun was already going down and he hadnt slept in over 24 hours.

"Im leaving at first light, with or without you." He said, making is way towards the road. He once again took the time out to check the trees, praying that Eden would leave him a sign that she was still alive.

"You didn't find her?" Carols frantic voice accused once they made it back to the highway. "She's out there alone!"

"She aint alone, Miss Edens with her." Carl said. "She told us no matter what, that she would keep us safe." His arms crossed defiantly over his chest, cheeks slightly pink.

Daryl didn't stay any longer. Pulling himself up into his truck a strangled sob made its way out his throat. Everything in the damned thing reminded him of her. The crumbled up blanket in the window, the bottle of water she had refused to keep, those damned air freshener she had found and insisted on taking with them. Everything made her absence seem so permanent, made his failure seem so damning.

"Im gonna find you, I promise." He whispered into the night.

The next day Daryl was up before the sun, water bottle in hand. Today was the day he found her, them. He had a dream the night before that they had found the girls inside a small building, he wanted to believe that it was a sign somehow, that they were going to find them.

Daryl was more than angry when he realized that it wasn't just him and Rick going, that while he slept the group had come up with a search party that would accompany them. Slowing them down was more like it.

Eden and Sophia ended up spending the night in a tree, it wasn't the most comfortable sleeping arrangement but it was without a doubt safer than the forest floor. When the sun had came up they continued on their was through the woods, soon enough finding a small cabin. As quick as she could Eden went around the one room cabin looking for any walkers, making sure that this time their wouldn't be any surprises.

Satisfied, she sat down against the front door, her head lulling to the side. She was beyond tired, the pain in her ankle had gone from small pings to full on blazing.

"Why don't you have a go at trying to find some supplies, gather anything you think we could use and bring them here. Think of it as a scavenger hunt." She stretched a smile over her face for the small girl, forcing herself to hide her pain. Sophia went off excitedly, looking into every nook and cranny.

Eden looked down at her foot, she had one of two options, she could take off her shoe and survey the damage or she could keep the shoe on there and hope it was binding some of the swelling. When Sophia brought over a large first aid kit before setting back off to look for more "loot" as she was calling it, Eden's choice was pretty much made for her.

Taking off her shoe had been harder than she had thought, after finally having a moment to rest, her body seemed to have ran out of whatever natural pain killer it had been full of. Now even the littlest touch seemed to send fire up through her leg. Once she finally got her shoe off, her foot looked like it had been ran over, it was purple from the arch in her foot to about three inches above her ankle.

Eden let out a shaky sob looking down at her bruised flesh, she didn't know if it was broken or just sprung; either way should couldn't keep walking on it. Opening the kit, she wrapped an ace bandage around it, careful not to make it to tight. There were some other items in there that she might be able to use, but didn't want to waste them incase something else came along. Slipping her shoe back on before Sophia could see what was happening, she painted another smile on her face as the young girl brought over a couple pots and pans.

The search part had came across a tent at some point, but Daryl knew it wasn't Eden inside. She was to smart for that. Still he checked, just to give the group a little peace of mind. As he expected it wasn't the girls. They had made their way to a small clearing, a church nestled neatly in the middle. Daryl briefly wondered why the grass was so short.

Inside, they found no sign of the girls, only the dead. Daryl had been sure that his dream was some sort of sign, that even if they didn't find them right out today, they would at least find a sign that they were still alive. Rick, in the end, asked Daryl to take the group back to the road, that Shane and himself would keep looking. Carl in the end went with them. Daryl wanted to keep looking, but one look at Shane and he knew the man was wanting to find the girls just as bad as he was.

As much as he hated to admit it, Shane and Eden had gotten pretty close over the last month. If Daryl didn't know Eden as well as he did, he would be worried about all the time they spent together.

His curiosity was tugging at him to take a closer look at the church, but he had to take the group back before night fall. Praying that he didn't miss anything he turned around, missing the arrow carved into the church, only inches away from him.

Eden smiled, genuinely smiled, at all the things Sophia had brought over to her. In all fairness most of what she brought could actually be used, some of the things; like the pots as pans or even the microwave, were a bit out there.

Luckily the people living here before them had a backpack packed away under the bed. Inside were a handful of oat bars, which Eden instantly gave to the small girl along with the bottle of water stashed there, some clothes they didn't need and a compass.

"What do you think we should put in the backpack?" Eden asked Sophia. In the end they packed: the first-aid kit, the three cans of tuna, the sheets from the bed and what was left of the water. The girls sat in a comfortable silence Eden taking a couple bits of one of the oat bars before giving what was left to the still starving girl.

Eden was about to ask if Sophia thought they should stay the night, wanting to teach the girl whatever she could, when they heard a gunshot in the distance.

Pushing Sophia and the backpack into a small cupboard for the night, she whispered small reassurances through the closed door as she kept watch. Speaking in hushed tones until Sophia fell asleep.

"Please Daryl, find us soon." Eden's tear filled whispered went unheard.

**Thank you everyone who has stuck it out with me through my little absence and Im sorry for the chapter being so short, I wanted to get one out there to show ya'll that I was back. I had been out of my mind planning for the road trip a friend and myself went on to Texas for RTX 2014, and everything just now settled down, almost two months after my trip. Have no fear though, I am back on track! **


	17. Chapter Seventeen

They had been separated for a month, a month of running on a foot that Eden was positive was broken and at this point beyond repair. What little food and water they could find went to Sophia; the small girl growing more accustomed to the world around them and Eden felt a spark of fear when she saw the similarities between the little girl at her side and her baby brother.

Sophia was smart, smarter than Eden had given her create for. She had slipped into surviving fast and never complained. Everything Eden told her to do she did, whether it was a product of her being raised that way or just her basic instincts kicking in Eden wasn't going to push it. It was keeping them alive and until they could find a safe place, that was all she needed to know.

A week after they were separated they came across the highway with smiling faces and high hopes. What they found was a faded sign and scattered cans, neither of them were able to keep strong, both opting to find a car and breakdown. According to the sign, the group would come back everyday but when the second day passed with no sign from anyone, they had to come to terms with the obvious; they were left behind. It took a little convincing to get Sophia to leave the highway, an extra day of waiting and a night of sobs later and they were on their way to Edens families house.

That was weeks ago, and in that time they had come across more walkers than they had thought were left in the area, a rain storm and a group of men in orange jumpsuits that they nearly ran into. Thankfully Sophia was more aware of their surrounding at the time and had warned them before they got to close. Something Sophia had been doing more and more of; keeping watch as they went. A part of her felt horrible for it, while a larger part of her knew that with the lack of food and water they've found and the weakness she could feel seeping into her bones that she wouldn't be able to last much longer. If they didn't get to her Uncle's house soon, or if they got there and found the farm house empty; she wouldn't be able to take Sophia any farther. The little girl would be alone. That thought was the only thing that kept her moving, that helped her ignore the hopelessness she felt inside.

"D...do you see the ruven?" Talking took so much energy, almost zapping her reservoir clean.

"Yeah, and right after that there is a break in the trees. Maybe a twenty minute walk?" Sophia had been scouting ahead a lot; picking up the slack that Eden left. It was making the girl stronger, and that was all that mattered.

They kept telling him it was useless, that the girls were gone; that SHE was gone. Even Carol had given up hope for her daughter, coming to terms on her own that she wasn't coming back. They didn't understand that he could still feel her, like a gaping wound in his chest. He could feel her absence, an absence that wouldn't be there if she were truly dead.

He loved her and wouldn't rest until he had her back in his arms and as he rounded the corner of the old church his legs gave out.

An arrow carved into the side of the church. She was here and by the look of the erosion around the edges, she left a while ago.

Was she hear before we were? Had I missed this?

Relief slammed so hard into his body that the world turned around him. He hadn't known he was crying until the taste of snot spread around his mouth. This was the first sign of life he had found. He wasn't crazy, his woman was alive and he would be damned if he ever let her go again.

Grabbing his crossbow from where it had fallen he took off in the direction of the arrow his smile growing with each new arrow he found.

"Do you remember what I tol...told you?" Eden was leaning heavily against the large pine tree on the edge of the clearing, her vision blurring in and out.

"Go around the back to the barn, keep my head down and watch my corners."

"And?"

"Watch for Walkers and look for your cousin Maggie. When I find someone that looks like her, I ask her the question if she answers right I signal you with the mirror and you'll make your way to us; if not I run back here and we find somewhere else." Moments like this Sophia's inner teenager showed through. The roll of her eyes and the impatient while in her voice, it all made her smile and she watched as Sophia took off around the perimeter of the field and around the back.

Five minutes later a flash of light made its way across the field and with a watery smile Eden made her way into the field towards home.

She maybe young but Sophia knew things; she understood how bad Miss Eden was. She had to force the woman to drink some of the water they found and it made her sad to watch her friend going hungry while she filled her belly but no matter what she said Miss Eden wouldn't take any of the food. Of course when they had a bit extra, Sophia would watch as she slowly chewed the food as she cried silently.

Sophia knew that if they didn't get help soon that Miss Eden wouldn't make it. She would end up like her Daddy did.

When her back hit the back of the barn, her heart stopped. She could smell the dead inside, hear their ragged moaning and until she heard the distant talking she thought that all hope was lost.

"... I don't know, he's different." The taller woman said to the small blonde as they made their was towards the barn. The closer they got to the barn the more the woman looked like Miss Edens cousin.

"Is your name Maggie Greene?" Sophia said coming out from the shadows, her hands in the air. Wincing by the startled look on the younger girls face, but she didn't have time to wait.

"Y.. yes. Who are you? Where did you come from? Where is your family?" The woman was firing off questions one after the other.

"When you were thirteen years old you kissed a boy named John Mase. What did he say after?" The shocked and guarded look on her face was enough to convince Sophia that she was who she said she was, but Miss Eden told her to be carefully. That people lie.

"... I don't know who you are or how you know that but.."

"Please answer the question!" Sophia urged taking the couple steps until she reached the woman, he hand gripping her arm tightly. "Please!"

"He said my mouth tasted like old beans. Now what is this about?" Sophia didn't answer her, only dragging her to the side of the house and pulling the mirror out of her pocket and waving it excitedly against the sun.

"What on earth are you doing!" Maggie yelled taking the mirror from her.

"Miss Eden said to signal her if you were you. She's really weak and couldn't run if it wasn't, we got to help her! Come on!" Pulling Maggie with her she rounded the front of the house and running straight into someone's stomach.

"Whoa what's the rush... Sophia?" Officer Rick dropped to his knee and held the girl at arms length.

"WALKER!"

"Andrea don't shoot."

"I GOT IT!"

The shot rang out and Sophia watched as Eden disappeared into the field. A scream leaving her throat as she tried to push Rick away and make her way to the only one that ever treated her like she was a real person.

AN: It's been a long while since any activity has been on this story and honestly I didnt think I would ever update it again, I just couldnt pick the story back up. Then I reread it and found hundreds of mistakes and found my muse again. For now, im leaving the mistakes in there until I actually have the time to go through and fix everything. I cant promise updates every week or even every month. With school, work, my book, and cosplays that I havent worked on in weeks, to do, I dont have alot of time to spare. I can promise that I havent forgotten about this though and will update it when possible.


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